Jungle Adventure
by Lu-Larabee-Standish
Summary: ATF Team 7 go on Vacation to the jungle and have some adventures.
1. Prologue

I don't own any of the Magnificent 7 guys or Judge Orin Travis. I created Lu and a few other characters in this story, so they belong to me. Thanks to Mog for creating the ATF universe that the Mag. 7 guys in my story are from. Thanks to Jediya for being my beta.  
  
Prologue  
  
The team has been ordered by Judge Travis to meet in their conference room with the man himself.  
  
Chris arrives at the ATF offices first and notices a woman with long brown curly hair standing outside the doors looking a bit lost. He goes up to her to see if he can help her. He clears his throat and asks, "Hi, I couldn't help noticing ya look like ya need directions or somethin'."  
  
The woman replies in a well-spoken English accent, "Hi, you must be Chris Larabee?"  
  
Chris looks very surprised at her knowing his name and answers, ""Yes I am, and you are?"  
  
"I'm Lucy Travis, but you can call me Lu."  
  
Chris searches his memory trying to work out where he's heard that name before. He finally recalls where he's heard her name before. "Are you Judge Travis's niece from England?"  
  
"Yes I am. He told me to come here and meet him at the ATF Team 7 conference room, but I've forgotten the directions he gave me to get there and the building looks so huge."  
  
Chris replies, "Seeing as I've been asked there as well, I'll take you there."  
  
They haven't even opened the entrance doors, when suddenly they hear a truck pulling up. It's Chris' oldest friend Buck Wilmington. Chris motions Lu to follow him towards the vehicle.  
  
Buck opens the door and steps out, noticing the pretty young woman with Chris. He smiles at the woman and says, "Hi there."  
  
Lu greets him, "Hi, you must be Buck Wilmington?"  
  
Buck is surprised, wondering if she's psychic, "How did you know that?"  
  
"My uncle Orin told me all about each member of team 7. He said Buck is the only member with a moustache and he also drives a red pickup truck, plus he has an eye for the ladies which I can clearly tell just by looking at you."  
  
The Moustached man smiles and asks, "Are you coming to the meeting as well?"  
  
"Yes, that's why I'm here." Buck turns on the Wilmington charm and says, "You have a beautiful English accent!"  
  
The English woman falls for Buck's charm and replies, "Thank you Sir."  
  
"Call me Buck. Sir just don't suit me, miss."  
  
The three enter the building and get into the lift and go up to the offices. When they get to the 11th floor, where their offices and the conference room is, Chris hears some vehicles pulling up outside.  
  
He looks out of the nearest window. He sees JD pulling up on his Kawasaki Ninja motorbike, which he notices, looks very shiny today. Across the parking lot he sees 2 other vehicles just parking. He sees Ezra's Jaguar and Nathan's Ford Explorer - he wonder's where Vin and Josiah have got to. This question is answered as he first sees Vin getting out of the Jag and then Josiah getting out of the Explorer. Chris joins Buck and Lu in the conference room, telling them that the other men have just arrived outside. There's no sign of Judge Travis yet.  
  
They hear several voices on the stairs - it is the rest of the team. They arrive in their office and it is clear that Vin and JD are arguing. Chris listens from the conference room to what is being said.  
  
The youngest member of team 7, JD, addresses Vin sternly, "I told you to NEVER go on my computer without asking first. I'll have to reinstall everything now."  
  
The Sharpshooter asks innocently, "Will that take long?"  
  
JD replies angrily, "Yes it will. STAY AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER."  
  
Chris comes out of the conference room to stop a fight breaking out. The team leader looks first at JD then Vin and says sternly, "Guys!"  
  
JD answers back angrily, "He messed up my computer. I was making some coffee and while I was in the kitchen he decided to look on my computer. Now everything's corrupted!"  
  
Chris looks angrily at Vin knowing that the sharpshooter shouldn't have been touching JD's computer seeing as he has very little knowledge of them.  
  
Vin replies, "T'was an accident!" thinking foolishly, that this will make up for everything.  
  
"My fist will have an accident with your face in a minute Tanner!" says JD raising his voice slightly.  
  
Chris steps between them to end the fight, "Please settle this outside of the office later - and without causin' any bruises. I hate to see my men arguing."  
  
They both apologise to Chris and go into the conference room where they are introduced to Lu.  
  
Judge Travis enters the office and walks into the conference room where the guys are chatting. The Judge addresses everyone with, "Good Morning everyone. I'm glad to see that you're all here on time for a change and there's no visible bandages or casts."  
  
JD is about to say something but Chris glares at him.  
  
Judge Travis starts to explain why he has called them there; "No doubt you have all met my niece, Lu by now. She is the reason I have called this meeting today. She is an archaeologist in England and has a mission to find a priceless artefact in South America. A contact of hers has given her a map, which will help her find it. However, the jungle is a dangerous place for a young lady on her own and because of that, I have decided that you guys will accompany her and treat it as a vacation. I'm giving you all a week's paid vacation to go with her. I have arranged a flight for you all to get there and hired a mini bus to help you get around once there. You will have to arrange your own hotel rooms and flight home but I have plenty of funds to help you, which I will entrust to Mr. Larabee. Any questions?"  
  
JD asks, "Can I bring Casey?"  
  
"I'm afraid not Mr. Dunne. There's only enough tickets for you guys and Lu."  
  
Chris speaks up before anyone else can ask a foolish question, "I don't think there's any more questions. When do we leave?"  
  
"I've arranged it so you have time to let your friends know you're going away. I don't want a repeat of that time, where no-one told anyone where they were going and they had search parties lookin' for you. The flight's not until later this afternoon."  
  
He hands all the details to Chris, plus an envelope full of money and adds sternly, "Please use this cash wisely, furthermore, I don't want anyone getting injured."  
  
Travis leaves the conference room and heads back to his office.  
  
Everyone goes home and packs enough clothes and provisions for a week. Chris packs tents and camping equipment just in case they can't stay at a hotel while there. They all meet at the airport at the appointed time and soon they are on a flight to South America.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED. 


	2. Part 1: The Golden Idol

I don't own the Magnificent Seven, however Lu and Krys are original characters created by me. Thanks to the makers of the Indiana Jones film "Raiders of the Lost Arc" for inspiring me. There are a few places in parts 1 and 2, which sound vaguely like the film but aren't too similar. Thanks to Michelle S (aka Jediya) for beta reading the story parts for me and also helping me with the guys' speech in places, especially Ezra's.  
  
Part 1: The Golden Idol  
  
The seven men and Judge Travis' niece Lu have flown to a jungle somewhere in South America, where they are going to help Lu find a priceless artefact she has been asked to find.  
  
They are driving to the jungle from the airport, in the bus Judge Travis has hired for them. They have worked out the location of where they need to go in the jungle on a roadmap. Buck is in a very restless mood, as he isn't keen on flying and knows they will have to fly again to get home. Everyone else is trying to put up with him.  
  
Buck asks in a childish voice, "Can't this thing go any faster?"  
  
"How fast d'ya wan' it ta go Buckley?" responds Vin, enjoying the drive and wishing Buck was as well.  
  
Lu asks Buck sarcastically, "Would you prefer it to fly there?"  
  
Buck looks at her annoyed, "We'll never get there before tomorrow at this speed."  
  
"I'm doin' 60 - I don't want ta get arrested fer speeding," answers Chris, without taking his eyes off the road in front of him.  
  
Buck takes a bottle from under his seat and says, "Well if this is gonna take all day I'm gonna need a drink!"  
  
Vin sitting next to him eyes it suspiciously and asks, "What's that?"  
  
Buck answers, "Just a little drink."  
  
Vin takes the drink off him and says, "No drinkin' on the bus or ya'll be walkin' back home!"  
  
"You should tell the driver that - I'm sure he had a few before we came out."  
  
Chris speaks up from the drivers' seat. "I heard that and anyway, it was mineral water. No drinking allowed on the bus - you know the rules, Buckley."  
  
Vin sighs and says, "Where did we go wrong?"  
  
JD answers the question, which didn't require an answer, "I think it was when we didn't think of leaving Buck behind and bringing Casey instead."  
  
They get to the jungle and get off the bus.  
  
Lu studies the map for a minute to check they are in the right place, "The map says we have to head due north for a mile."  
  
Buck exclaims, "We have ta WALK a mile???"  
  
"It's too thick ta drive through Buckley!" says Vin.  
  
"I'll stay with the bus and guard it, y'all go ahead without me."  
  
Chris sighs and says, "Buck, the bus don't need guardin' - you're walkin' with us."  
  
"Ok, but if the bus gets stolen don't blame me."  
  
They walk a mile, with Buck grumbling all the way and they come to a stream, which is too wide to jump over and too deep to wade in.  
  
Buck asks, "Now what?"  
  
"We have to swim across the stream and go east. Did you bring your swimming trunks Buckley?" says Lu, studying her map.  
  
"I didn't expect no swimmin', I'll stay here," answers Buck, worrying about what danger could lie ahead.  
  
Nathan, feeling quite brave, says, "What you afraid of Buck? There's no 'gators in there."  
  
"Are you sure?" asks Buck, thinking perhaps there are.  
  
Nathan undresses to his underwear and puts his clothes in a bag which he leaves on the ground with the others, while he explores the water. He gets into the water and ducks his head under looking for 'gators.  
  
He resurfaces, "There ain' nothin' livin' in here."  
  
JD suddenly points behind Nathan, "I can see why there ain't nothin' livin' in there."  
  
Chris sees what he's pointing at, "Get out of there now Nate -There's something huge and full of teeth in there with you!"  
  
Nathan doesn't hear him, so Chris calls louder, "NATE, come back."  
  
Nathan looks behind him and something jumps at him with huge teeth. Nate rapidly swims back to the guys, narrowly escaping the creature's jaws.  
  
Nathan frowns, feeling pain somewhere on him. He looks at his side and sees teeth marks and blood there. After drying himself off with a towel he had in his bag for emergencies, he gets dressed again. He takes out a first aid kit (he has huge pockets in his trousers) and fixes himself up.  
  
Buck asks in a resigned voice, "How are we s'posed ta get ta the other side?"  
  
Nathan has finished seeing to the teethmarks and suggests, "If only we had some sleeping 'gators then we could use them as stepping stones!"  
  
Chris glares at Nathan, wondering how come Nathan is so brave today.  
  
Buck, looking at Nathan's scratches, says, "Now I know why I didn't jump in first!"  
  
"Maybe it mistook me fer a fish!"  
  
"We can't get across there!" says JD, wondering how many skeletons lie at the bottom of the stream.  
  
"We know that JD - why do you have ta say the obvious?" says Buck, glaring at the younger agent.  
  
"I suppose you've never said the obvious in yer life, Mr. Wilmington?" says Nathan, defending the youngest agent.  
  
Chris looks at JD and Buck, knowing that this is going to be a long day, "Stop fighting you two."  
  
"I'm not going home without the Golden Idol," says Lu.  
  
"You think of a way ta cross then," responds Buck.  
  
Chris suddenly looks around with a worried expression on his face, "Where's Ezra and Josiah?"  
  
"Perhaps they're guardin' the bus," suggests Buck.  
  
Vin recalls, "They were here a minute ago."  
  
Everyone calls them.  
  
They look around for the two missing agents and JD suddenly falls down a big hole, which everyone failed to see. They gather round the hole and look down. JD is making pained noises while he's falling. Then he lands.  
  
JD calls back up, "Ow! I think I've broken my ankle."  
  
"Can you see anythin' JD?" calls down Buck.  
  
JD answers, "Throw me a torch and I might."  
  
"I think this might be the way to get across the stream," says Lu, hoping the youngest agent will be okay.  
  
Chris nods at Lu, "We need a long rope so we can get down there."  
  
Vin points at Nathan, "Nathan won't fit down that hole."  
  
Chris says, "We'll tie the rope ta him then."  
  
"No you won't, Mr. Larabee!" says the annoyed agent, Nathan.  
  
"No, we'll tie it ta that tree. Has anyone got some rope?" answers Chris hoping someone thought to bring some rope with them.  
  
Vin answers the blonde man, "There's some on the bus."  
  
"But, the bus is a mile away!" says Buck worried that if they have to draw straws, that he will pick the short one. Fortunately for him, no-one suggests doing that.  
  
"I'll stay here with JD," answers Nathan, knowing that this is the perfect reason for him not walking back to the bus.  
  
Buck quickly says, "I'll get lost if I try ta go back."  
  
"If those two are stayin', we can't trust them on their own, I'll stay here with them," volunteers Vin.  
  
"Looks like you're the one going back for the rope, Chris! I'll stay here with the guys," announces Lu, learning the way that things work with these guys.  
  
Chris is wondering why they all have to give him a hard time, "I'll have ta walk back and get it then; no-one is to try going down that hole until I come back with the rope, understand?"  
  
Everyone nods obediently.  
  
Chris leaves Vin, Buck, Nathan and Lu standing near the hole to wait for him  
  
"Then there were 4!" says Nathan spookily.  
  
"What you on about?" asks Buck.  
  
"Everyone's disappearing. Soon there'll only be one left."  
  
"It won't be you Nate, 'cos I'll throw ya down that hole if you don't shut up!" threatens Vin.  
  
Nathan goes quiet.  
  
JD calls up, " I'm hungry - hurry up and get me out. I can't move my foot - it hurts too much."  
  
Buck calls down to JD, "Quit yer moaning - the rate Chris was goin' he'll be back with the rope soon.  
  
Vin suggests, "Maybe there's a tunnel ta the treasure down there - it may go under the stream."  
  
JD calls up to the group, "I want ta go home. When Chris gets back, send Nate down ta fix my foot. But just make sure he'll fit down the hole first or he'll get stuck."  
  
Nate, not feeling brave anymore, says, "I ain't goin' down no hole - could be snakes down there."  
  
Vin suggests jokingly, "We should send Chris down first then, he jest loves snakes!"  
  
JD is quiet for a moment, then replies "I don't hear any snakes about, do we have ta explore down here? Can't we just go home?"  
  
"We can't go without the artefact or Ezra and Josiah. P'haps they fell down there and found a tunnel," answers Vin.  
  
"They'd have broken ankles as well," says JD, suddenly worried about the other two agents.  
  
Buck has a thought, "Perhaps they found the hole and climbed down there with a rope."  
  
"They would have left the rope tied ta a tree if they'd done that," thinks Vin out loud.  
  
"Perhaps they fell and weren't so lucky," says the youngest agent from down the hole.  
  
"Feel around and see if they're lying unconscious." says the medic, feeling worried about the two missing agents.  
  
JD answers him, "I don't want to, after you nearly got eaten alive I'm scared."  
  
"Chris will be ages yet. What are we supposed to do?" asks Lu feeling impatient.  
  
"I'd suggest we avoid falling down that hole and ending up getting eaten by sewer mutants," says Nathan feeling glad that he didn't fall down the hole.  
  
JD calls up, "Sewer mutants?"  
  
"Nate, there's no mutants down there, stop scarin' JD," says Vin sternly.  
  
Buck finds a torch and shines it down the hole. He sees JD sitting there, then he sees something close to JD. "Uh oh."  
  
"Uh oh what?" JD calls up.  
  
"There's a skeleton down there!" answers Buck.  
  
"S-S-S-Skeleton?" says JD, feeling scared.  
  
Buck is starting to feel worried about JD being down there on his own and makes a quick decision,  
  
"Who needs a rope, just need ta land properly."  
  
Buck jumps down the hole and lands properly.  
  
"Are you ok?" asks JD.  
  
Buck nods at JD and shines the torch to show JD the skeleton."I'm better than the skeleton," he answers.  
  
"I'm scared, I don't want ta know how he got killed."  
  
Buck studies it and replies, "It's a woman, JD"  
  
"You're cleverer than I thought!" answers JD, looking at him in surprise.  
  
Buck shines the torch around. "I know a woman when I see one. Ah - Just as I suspected, several tunnels."  
  
"What is this place?" asks JD.  
  
"An underground cavern. I bet Ezra and Josiah came down here," answers Buck.  
  
"My ankle hurts!" moans JD.  
  
Buck helps JD stand up and helps him to walk.  
  
"We can't leave without the others," states JD.  
  
Buck calls up to the others, "Is Chris back yet?"  
  
An angry voice answers them, "Yes and he's very mad at Buck!"  
  
"Chris!" exclaims Buck, not expecting Chris to get back so soon.  
  
"Buck, You could have broke yer neck jumping down there," shouts Chris down the hole.  
  
Buck answers him; "At least there's no beast with big sharp teeth down here. What if that things amphibious?" He continues, "There's tunnels down here. Me and JD are going ta take the one going east."  
  
"How d'yer know that's east?" asks JD, getting the feeling that it isn't east.  
  
Buck answers him confidently, "There's an E above the tunnel entrance, the others say N, S, and W - the points of the compass!"  
  
"That's very clever, but why would someone put the letters above the tunnel?" asks JD still doubting that it is east.  
  
Vin calls down, "Chris is coming down."  
  
"Now we're for it, quick lets go through the tunnel before he gets here."  
  
"We don't know where Ezra and Josiah went," states JD, worried that they could have got lost.  
  
"If the tunnels' goin' east we'll go under the stream and hopefully they went that way," answers Buck.  
  
"I hope it's watertight!" says JD not wanting to drown and maybe never be found.  
  
They walk through the tunnel and hear the other guys arriving in the cavern behind them.  
  
Chris looks around for them in the cavern, while the others are climbing down the rope; "JD? Buck?"  
  
JD calls back, "Take the tunnel that says E on top."  
  
Vin joins Chris in the cavern and is told where Buck and JD have gone, he calls back to them, "E isn' f'r East, it's headin' south."  
  
"Then what's E for?" JD asks Buck behind him.  
  
Buck turns back; "I don't want ta find out."  
  
"Theres nothing scary that begins with E!" says JD, seemingly reading Buck's mind.  
  
Buck turns to face JD (who has turned back towards the way they came) and a look of horror comes over his face; "Yes there is, we have ta go back now."  
  
JD turns round and sees what Buck saw - a flock of giant eagles with sharp looking beaks and talons. JD and Buck run back the way they came shouting to the others.  
  
They get back to the cavern finding that thankfully the eagles haven't followed. When they meet up with the other guys, Nate inspects JD's ankle and tells him to try not to walk on it too much, which is tricky cos no-one is willing to carry him!  
  
They take the correct tunnel this time. The tunnel forks so the men split up getting more worried about Josiah and Ezra who are still missing. Chris, JD and Vin go together and Buck, Nathan and Lu go together.  
  
Buck, who's leading the right-fork party, stops after about half a mile as he has got to the edge of a large ledge. Looking down he sees two still figures - they aren't moving.  
  
The group are looking down into a large cavern. In the centre they see the artefact they are looking for. Buck finds a rope hanging down which has been tied to a metal spike stuck into the wall. Buck tests the rope and it is held securely, so they each climb down into the cavern.  
  
Lu gets down last and says, "I wish we had radios, so we could tell the others we've found our men and the artefact."  
  
Nathan takes a radio out of his pocket. Buck grabs the radio and speaks; "Buck ta Chris. We've found the artefact and we've also found our missing people - I think they're dead. We've also found the artefact."  
  
Nathan grabs the radio off Buck; "They're not dead. They're asleep. I just checked."  
  
Chris answers on his radio; "Be very careful, there's likely to be booby traps there."  
  
Nathan answers, "Okay we'll get the artefact and the other guys and meet you back at the first cavern. Over and out." Nathan turns off the radio and puts it back in his pocket.  
  
"Chris said there might be booby traps near the artefact," says Nathan then adds, "I love boobies!"  
  
"Hey this is no time for puns!" snaps Buck, feeling tired and in no mood for word games.  
  
"What shall we do n." asks Nathan, not wanting to set off any traps. He is interrupted by a noise of stonework falling apart. "Uh-oh!"  
  
Lu runs up to the artefact watching her step. She swaps the artefact for a bag of stones and stows the artefact in her bag. She runs back to them. She says to the men, "Lets wake those two up and get out of here!"  
  
Buck radios Chris; "We've got the artefact and the place is falling apart!"  
  
An evil voice answers (in a very posh American accent), "I'm so terribly sorry about that. Bring me the artefact and you're beloved leader and friends will come to no harm."  
  
Buck realises the terrible truth; "Uh-oh they're in trouble..."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
What happened to Chris, Vin and JD:  
  
Chris, Vin and JD start walking through the left fork of the tunnel. The tunnel starts getting narrower so they have to walk in single file.  
  
"If this tunnel gets any narrower, we'll have ta walk sideways," complains JD.  
  
"No-one said findin' an ancient artefact would be easy!" says Vin wishing he was back home.  
  
"I wish we'd never come here, this place is so dangerous," JD says, scared of what dangers might be ahead.  
  
"Ancient artefact places are always well guarded!" explains Vin.  
  
"I wasn't the one who said let's go looking for ancient artefacts. It was Lu's idea and Travis's orders and we had no choice!" grumbles Chris.  
  
They stop as they get to a dead end. The radio crackles and it's Buck telling them they've found Josiah, Ezra and the artefact. After Chris has finished the radio conversation and switched it off, they hear footsteps coming towards them. Then a group of men point rifles at them. "You will be our prisoners until the rest of your group gives us the artefact." says the leader,who was silently listening to the radio conversation.  
  
The radio crackles and it's Buck...  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Ezra and Josiah's story  
  
Ezra and Josiah wanted to have their own adventure. They knew that there must be a way to get to the other side of the stream. They started looking around for any secret ways across.  
  
"Ezra, I've found a big hole," says Josiah running to Ezra. The two men have separated from the other's without anyone noticing.  
  
Ezra shines his torch down; "It appears to be an underground cavern, Mr. Sanchez. Ah suggest that we explore it furthah."  
  
"If we can jump and land right we won't need a rope," suggests Josiah seeing that it isn't very far down.  
  
They jump down the hole, landing carefully.  
  
Ezra shines his torch around; "There are four passages with E, W, S, and N marked above them."  
  
Josiah looks at his compass; "The signs are mixed up if they're meant to be compass points."  
  
"Do you think it's meant to be a puzzle?" asks Ezra.  
  
"E is going south. S is going west. I think we need ta go through N ta go under the stream."  
  
"Good thinking Mr. Sanchez, lets go."  
  
They go through the tunnel and have been walking for a mile when they get to a fork.  
  
"Which direction should we travel in?" asks Ezra.  
  
"I don't know brother Ezra - there's no signs above these tunnels. I wish I had the map," answers Josiah.  
  
"We should have 'borrowed' it, then we would be able to retrieve the artefact before everyone else," says Ezra. "That woulda made Chris mad," explains Josiah.  
  
"Ah suggest we make a random assumption and continue through the right passage," says Ezra, not liking having to guess which tunnel.  
  
"Maybe right means the right way," suggests Josiah.  
  
"Ah somehow doubt that theory Mr. Sanchez."  
  
They walk for a while and then stop at a ledge.  
  
"I do believe that all this walking is causing me to suffer from fatigue, when can we rest for a while Mr. Sanchez?" asks Ezra.  
  
There is a rope hanging down and they climb down it.  
  
"Ah'm so tired. Let us discontinue our quest until our energy has been fully restored," says Ezra, deciding the idol can be found later.  
  
They lie down and fall asleep....  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Part 2: Krys

I don't own the Magnificent Seven, however Lu and Krys are original characters created by me. Thanks to the makers of the Indiana Jones film "Raiders of the Lost Arc" for inspiring me. There are a few places in parts 1 and 2, which sound vaguely like the film but aren't too similar. Thanks to Michelle S (aka Jediya) for beta reading the story parts for me and also helping me with the guys' speech in places, especially Ezra's.  
  
Part 2: Krys  
  
Buck turned off the radio and looked at Nathan and Lu, with a worried expression on his face.  
  
Ezra wakes up from his sleep and sees Buck, Nathan and Lu; "Where in the world am I?" asks Ezra, before he remembers where he is.  
  
"What's wrong Buck?" asks Nathan, seeing the worried expression on Buck's face.  
  
"Chris, Vin, and JD have been caught by some bad guys who want the artefact. They sounded pretty dangerous on the radio."  
  
Josiah wakes up hearing the word dangerous; "Chris is in danger? Just give the guys the artefact and we can go home. This floor is gettin' uncomfortable to sleep on."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Meanwhile, the bad guys have forced Chris and the others back to the jungle and are sitting around a campfire talking and laughing. Chris, Vin and JD have their arms and legs tied and are sitting by a jungle tree. They are whispering amongst themselves.  
  
"We are never going to look for artefacts again. I don't care how much money a museum will pay us for doin' it," says Chris.  
  
"I'll get us outta this, let me distract them while you two escape," offers Vin.  
  
"No Vin, they look pretty dangerous," answers Chris.  
  
An attractive girl who looks about 19, is wearing a cowboy hat and is carrying a small handgun, comes over. "What's all this noise? If I hear another sound from any of y'all I'm gonna start shootin' people til you are quiet," she threatens.  
  
"Look, Miss. we ain't done nothin' wrong so please let us go," requests Vin.  
  
"Not until we have the Golden Idol. The power it will unleash will be enough ta help us rule the world!"  
  
"You're kidding - I don't believe in all that mumbo jumbo," says JD.  
  
"Soon y'all will see the power of the Golden Idol," says the girl, her voice becoming louder towards the end of the sentence.  
  
"I think yer on the wron' side, come over ta our side and ya can have adventures beyond yer wildest dreams!" says Vin.  
  
"An attractive proposal but.No!" teases the girl whose name is Krys.  
  
Krys moves away to the campfire, where the other bad guys are toasting marshmallows.  
  
JD watches them hungrily; "I wish I could have some toasted marshmallows."  
  
"I will give ya lotsa marshmallows if ya can make the bad guys disappear without endangerin' us or yerself," says Vin.  
  
JD snaps his fingers and suddenly.the bad guys run as fast as they can and have soon vanished back towards the rough track, where the bus is a mile away.  
  
"What's wron' with them? That was a clever trick, JD!" says Vin.  
  
"I don't think it was so clever, there's a huge tiger by the campfire!" says Chris.  
  
"Musta smelt the marshmallows!" answers Vin.  
  
"Or yer bad breath!" says JD.  
  
"Tigers are MEAT-eaters, they don't eat marshmallows!" says Chris, rolling his eyes at Vin in disbelief.  
  
"If Nate were here, it'd only need to eat half of him and he'd be full up!" says JD, who wouldn't dare say the same about Josiah who is bigger than Nathan.  
  
The tiger looks hungrily towards them and then slowly walks over.  
  
"We're goin' ta die!" says JD, closing his eyes.  
  
It pounces at Chris and everyone looks on in horror. It knocks him down and licks his face.  
  
"It likes you, Chris!" says Vin.  
  
"Tigers are s'posed to eat people, not lick them!" says JD.  
  
The tiger gets off Chris and walks away!  
  
They hear footsteps and it's Krys. She runs to them and starts untying them.  
  
"What do YOU want now?" asks Vin.  
  
"I want to join your gang. My boyfriend was using me all along."  
  
"Can we trust her?" asks Vin.  
  
"We can always throw her to the tigers if she crosses us!" answers Chris, with a glint in his eye.  
  
"I won't cross you. I was only on their side, 'cos my boyfriend said he'd buy me a house with all the money they would make from sellin' the idol. But I know he wasn't goin' ta now."  
  
"We have to find the others," says Chris, standing up.  
  
"Follow me, I know a shortcut," says Krys.  
  
They all get up and start following Krys.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Back in the cavern where the place has stopped falling apart.  
  
"Do you think they might escape?" asks Buck.  
  
"They might get lucky," answers Josiah, knowing that Chris and the others will escape somehow.  
  
"We can't stay here all day, let's go back," says Buck.  
  
"If we hide the idol, our antagonist's will require our directions to recover it, so therefore our lives will be spared at least until they have retrieved the current bane of our existence," suggests Ezra.  
  
"That's a good idea.what ever it was you just said!" agrees Buck, scratching his head in confusion.  
  
Ezra sighs.  
  
The radio comes to life and they hear Vin's voice; "Guys are ya there? The bad guys have run off and we're comin' ta meet ya."  
  
"Okay Mr Tannah. Over and out," says Ezra.  
  
"What if the bad guys are holding guns to their heads and making them pretend?" worries Buck.  
  
"The idol's hidden and only we know where," reassures Josiah.  
  
They hear footsteps and its Chris, Vin, JD and an attractive young woman they've never seen before.  
  
"That was quick!" says Ezra.  
  
Vin notices Buck staring at the woman and says, "This is Krys - she was with the bad guys, but she's on our side now. She showed us a shortcut to get here."  
  
"I wish we'd known about it - we had to walk miles from the bus to get here," says Buck.  
  
"We're actually closer to the bus than ya realise, that map is a trick ta make people go the long way round ta get here and possibly get eaten or attacked by somethin' alon' the way," reveals Vin.  
  
"Where's the idol?" asks Krys, looking around.  
  
"What idol?" asks Josiah, testing her to see if she's really on their side.  
  
"The golden idol you came here for."  
  
"How do we know you won't suddenly pull a gun on us when we give you it?"  
  
"Because I would rather destroy the idol. Vin told me about the trouble you've had ta get it and I believe it is an evil thing which must be destroyed," explains Krys.  
  
"The museum will pay a lot of money for it!" argues Lu.  
  
"I am sorry - I believe it has evil powers and must be destroyed!" says Krys.  
  
Josiah gets the idol and gives it to her and Krys throws it to the ground and covers it in alcohol from a small bottle she has. Then she lights a match and throws it at the idol. The idol bursts into flames and burns up as if it was wood. The gang go back along the shortcut.  
  
When they get to the top, Krys pulls Vin to one side.  
  
"I would like to ask you something," says Krys.  
  
"What is it Krys?" he asks her, looking into her eyes.  
  
"Can I come along with you and your friends? I have no home now," replies Krys, feeling a bit nervous of the long-haired Texan, who she figures must be about ten years older than her.  
  
"Yea sure, we'd be glad to have ya.," answers Vin, grinning at her.  
  
They smile at each other briefly, then go back to the bus. Krys rushes into the seat next to Vin before Buck can get to it. Buck takes a seat not far from the front.  
  
Chris starts the bus but the fuel gage reads empty. "We're out of gas!" yells Chris angrily.  
  
"Can't be! We had plenty when we got here," replies Buck.  
  
"Why were you looking at the instrument panel? I told you to stay away from the driver's seat!" answers Chris, who doesn't want Buck wrecking the bus.  
  
"You ain't the king you know, I don't have to do everything you tell me!" retorts Buck.  
  
"You want to take charge and drive us home?" yells Chris, standing up.  
  
"I can't drive this wreck," answers Buck in an equally loud voice.  
  
"Judge Travis was the one who hired it for us. Complain to him, not me," yells Chris back.  
  
"Stop fightin' you two. Someone will have ta go and get some gas from somewhere," says Vin, not wanting to shout to be heard.  
  
"I'm hungry!" pipes up JD, from somewhere near the middle of the bus.  
  
Krys takes out a bag of marshmallows and hands them around. The bag quickly empties and there are none left for her.  
  
Vin hands her one of his; "Here, I saved one for ya."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Vin and Krys sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" sing Ezra and Josiah jokingly.  
  
"Stop that!" shouts Vin.  
  
"Stop that what Mr. Tannah?" asks Ezra.  
  
"EZRA!" says Vin, annoyed.  
  
"Okay - Ezra and Josiah, you can go and find some gas," decides Chris, beginning to get very annoyed at the atmosphere on the bus.  
  
"I want to find some gas as well!" says Nathan, fearing the two of them will get hurt in their travels.  
  
"No Nathan, you stay in your seat!" orders Chris, not realising why Nathan wants to accompany them.  
  
Nathan gets up; " That girlie's in MY seat!"  
  
"No, she's in MY seat. I'm in YOUR seat!" replies Buck.  
  
"I meant you, you girlie!"  
  
"Everyone git in yer own seats," says Chris, a glare appearing on his face.  
  
Krys sits on Vin's lap, but Buck stays where he is and Nathan tries to sit on Buck. Buck goes and stands near Chris in a sulk. Vin doesn't complain about Krys sitting on his lap!  
  
Ezra and Josiah get some money off Chris and go to look for a gas station.  
  
"Buck! Git to yer own seat," says Chris, unable to yell, as his voice has grown a bit hoarse.  
  
"I'm not sitting next ta those two lovers," says Buck, clearly jealous of Vin.  
  
"Buckley, if you don't sit in yer own seat we'll leave you in the jungle!" threatens Chris.  
  
"You wouldn't dare Chris!" says Buck, looking at Chris for a sign that he doesn't really mean it.  
  
Chris shouts at Buck in annoyance; "TRY ME BUCKLEY!"  
  
Buck says, "Okay you win. this time!" and goes back to his seat. He growls at Krys angrily.  
  
Lu who's sitting next to JD, laughs and Vin hears her.  
  
"Don't laugh at that loser!" says Vin, loud enough for Buck to hear. Buck chooses to ignore the comment and closes his eyes instead.  
  
Ezra comes running back onto the bus without Josiah; "Chris - you and Nathan are needed outside rapidly - Josiah's fallen over and fractured his left leg!"  
  
Chris and Nathan get off the bus and Buck rushes to the drivers seat.  
  
"I'm Chris, I drive the bus!" says Buck, in an attempt to sound like Chris.  
  
"Get back here!" shouts Vin.  
  
"Mr Tanner I don't wish to observe you two making babies!" says Buck, now imitating Ezra.  
  
"We don't need any babies on this bus, we've got you!" says Lu, becoming bored of Buck's behaviour.  
  
"This is boring, I'm going to see if 'siah's okay," says JD, standing up.  
  
JD gets off the bus.  
  
"That adventure was kind of fun," says Vin, ignoring Buck who's pretending to drive the bus.  
  
JD comes back onto the bus; "It wasn't fun for me, my ankle still hurts!"  
  
"Is Josiah okay?" asks Vin.  
  
"We have to take him to hospital," answers JD.  
  
"We don't have any gas though," reminds Vin.  
  
"When Ezra and Chris have got some more gas I was going to say," says JD, annoyed.  
  
Chris and Ezra come in carrying Josiah. They help him sit down then go out for gas.  
  
"We now have two injured people. Travis said no-one was to get injured!" says Nathan, who knew JD's wouldn't be the only injury on this vacation.  
  
"Accidents will happen, Nathan!" says Vin.  
  
"Why don't we play a game to pass the time?" suggests Krys.  
  
"'Cos we don't have any cards? Ezra has the only pack of cards!" says JD, misunderstanding her slightly.  
  
"I was suggesting a party game," says Krys.  
  
"What sort of party game?" asks Buck, smiling at her.  
  
"First, you need to sit in yer own seat, Buckley," says Vin, noticing the smile aimed at Krys, who he's taken quite a liking to.  
  
"Only if Simon says so," says Buck.  
  
"I say so!" orders Vin.  
  
To be continued... 


	4. Part 3: Chris

I don't own the Magnificent Seven, however Lu and Krys are original characters created by me. Thanks to whoever created the 20 questions game. Also thanks to the writers of the dialogue for the Mag. 7 TV series episode "One Day out West" I have a piece of dialogue inspired by something in that episode although words have been changed and characters talking have changed as well. Thanks to Michelle S (aka Jediya) for beta reading the story parts for me and also helping me with the guys' speech in places, especially Ezra's.  
  
Part 3: Chris  
  
They decided to play 20 questions, so Krys thought of something for it.  
  
JD starts the questioning going with, "Are you an animal?"  
  
"Yes," answers Krys.  
  
"Are ya small?" asks Vin in his Texan drawl.  
  
"No," answers Krys.  
  
"Are you an Elephant?" guesses JD  
  
"No," says Krys.  
  
"A lady dinosaur?" asks Buck imaginatively.  
  
"No," says Krys, laughing at the guess.  
  
"Can you fly?" asks JD, taking the game very seriously.  
  
"No."  
  
"Swim?" asks Vin.  
  
"Sorta."  
  
"Are you a horse?" asks Buck.  
  
"Yes, now you think of somethin'," answers Krys.  
  
"Ok, done," says Buck, after what seems like a decade of him thinking.  
  
"Are ya an animal?" starts Krys.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Vegetable?" asks JD.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Mineral?" asks Vin.  
  
"Nope." Answers Buck.  
  
"You have ta be one of them," advises Krys.  
  
"I dunno what I am," says Buck.  
  
"You ruined the game," says Vin, looking annoyed.  
  
"Well what's a bus?" asks Buck in frustration.  
  
"That's a stupid one, Buck," says JD frowning at Buck.  
  
Lu, who's next to JD, wakes up. "What happened?" she asks.  
  
"Buck decided to be a bus in 20 questions but he didn't know what sorta thing it was," recounts JD.  
  
"He should've chosen something easier," says Lu helpfully.  
  
Chris and Ezra come back with a can of petrol, as the garage wasn't too far away. Chris puts it in the tank, while Ezra goes back to his seat.  
  
"Can we go now?" asks Josiah, waking up from his nap.  
  
"We could if I drive!" says Buck.  
  
Chris gets back on the bus and says sternly, "Buckley, you are NOT drivin' the bus!"  
  
"Why can't I drive it?" whines his oldest friend.  
  
"Because you'll crash it and get it all dented," explains Chris, glaring at the ladies man.  
  
"If ya had some faith in me I wouldn'," answers Buck.  
  
"I've seen yer drivin'," says Vin, "Chris, did ya find out where the hospital is?"  
  
"There's none for a long way. Nathan, can you see what ya can do for Josiah? It might be a while before we can get it seen to at a hospital."  
  
"Sure Chris," answers Nathan who then gets out his first aid kit and starts working on Josiah's leg.  
  
"Where're we gonna go now?" asks Krys.  
  
"It's gettin' pretty late so we're gonna find somewhere to pitch our tents," answers Chris, sounding a bit tired.  
  
"Y'all have tents?" asks Krys.  
  
"Chris is too tight ta pay fer hotel rooms fer us out of Travis's budget," says Buck.  
  
"Have you seen the prices of hotels round here? Anyway it's too late to get to one now. Besides, it'll be great to camp out," explains Chris.  
  
"Sounds dangerous to me, could be wild animals about," says JD, sounding scared.  
  
"Ya mean like that tiger?" asks Krys.  
  
"I ain' scared of no wild animals. They come anywhere near me I'll get out my rifle and shoot them ta kin'dom come," threatens Vin, looking at the undergrowth beside the bus.  
  
"That's uncalled for," says Lu, not wanting Vin to kill anything.  
  
"Ya ain't gonna get fat jus' eatin' vegit'bles," says Vin.  
  
"She's fine jus' how she is," says Buck defensively.  
  
"Thanks, Buckley," replies Lu.  
  
"Did ya jus' call me Buckley?" asks Buck angrily.  
  
"She sure did Buck," says JD.  
  
"Buck won' be best pleased with that!" says Vin, trying to hide a grin.  
  
"Don' call me Buckley, It's Buck!" shouts Buck.  
  
"I'm sorry Buck," apologies Lu timidly.  
  
They arrive at another bit of the jungle but where there are fewer trees.  
  
"This looks good, Vin - you and Buck get out the tents," orders Chris.  
  
"Yes Sir!" says Vin, saluting Chris mockingly.  
  
"Ya do that again and ya'll have to put up all the tents on yer own," growls Chris.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Okay, there's enough room in the tents for 1-3 people and there's 4 tents. So.Vin, Buck and Josiah you three go together, Lu and Krys can share, and Nate, JD and Ezra can go together," instructs Chris, careful to separate the trouble-makers.  
  
"You worked that out well didn' ya? You got a tent all by yerself, as usual," answers back Buck.  
  
"That's so I can git some peace and quiet fer a change," snaps back Chris defensively.  
  
"I'm deeply offended by that Chris," says Buck looking almost like he's going to cry.  
  
"Buckley, you can sleep on the bus so you're outta my way."  
  
"Fine by me."  
  
Buck skulks away and gets on the bus, closing the door behind him. The tents are put up, and then Lu, Nathan, Ezra, JD, and Vin go to look for firewood so they can have a campfire.  
  
Krys stays in her tent reading a book, Josiah rests on the ground outside his tent and Chris goes into his tent.  
  
When Chris gets inside he begins to feel lonely. He takes out, from his rucksack, a small bottle of something and drinks it in one. He takes out another bottle and drinks that.  
  
*******  
  
Vin finds a small snake on the ground and picks it up. He calls Lu and she goes over to him. He tells her to close her eyes and open her hands. She does so trustingly. He puts the snake in her hands and she opens them. She screams and throws the snake on the ground. Vin laughs evilly and wanders off.  
  
JD comes over, hearing the screams and asks, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Vin told me to close my eyes and open my hands. Then he put a snake in my hands. I HATE snakes," replies Lu.  
  
JD hugs her comfortingly and Vin quickly gets out his camera. He takes a picture of them.  
  
JD sees the flash and starts chasing Vin to get the picture.  
  
Lu sees a huge snake moving down a tree and screams loudly. Vin comes running towards her, having put the photo away in his pocket.  
  
"What's wrong?" asks the Texan.  
  
Lu points shakily at the snake  
  
Vin picks it up; "Nothin' ta be scared of." He strokes it and Lu runs away.  
  
"Don' go gettin' lost," Shouts Vin after her. "Ow." He drops the snake and looks at his hand.  
  
Nathan runs over and looks at Vin's hand. "That weren't so clever. Could be poisonous," says the medic looking at Vin's hand.  
  
Nathan calls everyone and they all come back. Vin looks unwell, so they help him back to camp. They have plenty of firewood collected by this time.  
  
*******  
  
Meanwhile, Josiah has fallen asleep outside his tent and Chris is staggering drunkenly towards Krys's tent. He lifts the tent flap and goes inside. Krys is still reading her book.  
  
Chris says drunkenly, "Hi, gorgeous." He moves towards her and puckers up, ready to kiss her. Krys screams.  
  
The others arrive back at the camp and Vin rushes inside Krys's tent upon hearing the scream. He is feeling a little weak from the snakebite.  
  
Chris is very close to the girl and about to kiss her!  
  
Vin looks at the scene and shouts, "WHAT THE...?"  
  
Chris answers drunkenly, "I can 'splain."  
  
"GET OUT!" orders Vin angrily.  
  
Chris runs outside scared and rushes back into his tent.  
  
"Are you okay?" asks Vin going over to Krys who looks shocked.  
  
"He was tryin' ta kiss me. Yuck!" replies the girl.  
  
Vin hugs her close to him; "It's ok, he's gone now." Vin agrees to stay with her. He doesn't feel so weak now and figures that the snakebite wasn't deadly afterall.  
  
*******  
  
Outside, the remaining men and Lu are talking when Chris stumbles out of the girls' tent and rushes into his own.  
  
"What was that about?" asks JD, a puzzled expression on his face.  
  
Josiah (who's been awakened by all the noise); "How should I know?"  
  
"Mr Larabee was in the tent with Mr Tannah's new girlfriend. Mr Tannah must have caught them sleeping together," says Ezra, jumping to conclusions.  
  
"They might not have been sleeping together," says JD, who can't believe Chris would betray his best friend like that.  
  
"Trust me, they were," drawls Ezra, starting to put sticks down for the campfire.  
  
JD puts helps Ezra then stops and says, "He came out with his clothes on!"  
  
"He must have been completing his attire when we came back then."  
  
They make their campfire, although they feel unhappy that not everyone's there. Chris and Vin come out of their tents and nearly bump into each other. Vin starts shouting obscenities at Chris. Chris goes back into his tent. Vin goes back in with Krys.  
  
JD rushes to the bus and Buck comes out as if he heard him.  
  
"What's wrong, JD?"  
  
"Chris and Vin have fallen out."  
  
"That's very serious. What about?"  
  
"Chris got drunk and went into Vin's girl's tent and made her scream somehow. Vin heard the scream and caught Chris in there. Now they hate each other," explains JD.  
  
Buck gets off the bus and rushes into Chris' tent.  
  
The blonde is lying down feeling very tired from all the alcohol he's drank. Upon hearing someone enter his tent he shouts at them, "GIT OUT!"  
  
"If you apologise to Vin and his girl, I'm sure y'all can be best friends again," says Buck.  
  
"Don' wanna be best friends with him. Why can't I get a pretty girlfriend? It's always him, who gets a pretty one," says Chris sounding like he's jealous of Vin. Chris starts crying. Buck hands him a hankie and Chris wipes his eyes. Chris: "I'm sho drunk."  
  
"Why did ya drink, pard?" asks Buck, concerned.  
  
"Cos I'm lonely and everyone hates me," says Chris, closing his eyes.  
  
"No-one hates you. They only pretend to."  
  
"Do you like me?" asks Chris, opening his eyes and fixing them on his oldest friend.  
  
"Course I do. You have to apologise to Krys and Vin now."  
  
Chris: "Have ta wait till I'm sober." Chris gets into bed and closes his eyes. Buck gets a sleeping bag and stays in Chris' tent with him.  
  
*******  
  
Morning arrives and Chris wakes up first with a huge hangover. He sees Buck sleeping opposite him. "WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' IN MY TENT?" shouts Chris, not remembering the previous day's drunkenness.  
  
Buck wakes up hearing Chris shouting at him and explains, "I was keepin' ya company."  
  
"WHAT?" Chris puts his hand to his head feeling a lot of pain there  
  
Buck starts to explain, "Ya got drunk and tried to kiss Vin's girl and Vin caught ya and y'all fell out and I came here and...."  
  
Chris holds his hand to his head and says, "Slow down Buck, I can't understand you."  
  
"You've fallen out with Vin cos he caught you with his girl. You got upset while you were drunk, so I figured you needed some company. You thought everyone hated you."  
  
"I don't remember anythin'. GET OUT!" Chris holds his head.  
  
Buck goes outside, and then Vin goes into Chris' tent.  
  
"What did I do?" asks Chris.  
  
"You tried to kiss my girl," answers Vin angrily.  
  
"Was I drunk?" asks Chris.  
  
"Very. If'n ya 'pologise I'll try 'n forgive ya."  
  
"I can't apologise for somethin' I can't remember doin'."  
  
"Try to remember. We ain't friends 'til you 'pologise," says Vin  
  
Chris tries to remember but can't. "I get terrible amnesia when I'm hungover. I'll remember later."  
  
"We ain't friends at the momen' then." Vin storms out.  
  
Buck comes back inside the tent and asks, "What happened?"  
  
"I lost my best friend 'til I remember and apologise."  
  
"I'll be your best friend." Says Buck, who's already Chris's oldest friend.  
  
"I don't want ya to be my bes' friend. I'm happy that you're my oldest friend."  
  
"I can't believe ya can't remember. I think yer pretending ya don' remember"  
  
"GET OUT OF MY TENT BUCKLEY!" yells Chris, then holding his head in pain.  
  
Chris sits down on the floor, still holding his head. Buck goes out and comes back with a bottle of Aspirin and a glass of water.  
  
"Nathan says take a couple of these and ya'll be much better," says Buck putting the items carefully on the ground.  
  
"You tryin' to get back in my good books?" asks Chris.  
  
"Maybe," answers Buck.  
  
"It ain't workin'! Please go away."  
  
Chris lies down on his bed unhappily.  
  
Buck goes outside and Lu comes into the tent. She looks at the blonde, whom she has grown to respect a lot; "Chris, are you okay?"  
  
Chris mumbles (laying on his face).  
  
"I can't hear you," says the girl softly, not wanting to upset him.  
  
Chris turns over; "What do you think?"  
  
Lu goes over to Chris and puts her hands on his shoulders comfortingly. "It isn't your fault. We didn't even ask you to go with us yesterday, which was very mean of us."  
  
Chris: "I noticed that. I woulda said no anyway. I don't have as much fun as you youngsters," says Chris, feeling old.  
  
"Are you still enemies with Vin?" asks Lu.  
  
"Yes. For somethin' I don't remember doing."  
  
"You wouldn't try to kiss Vin's girl if you were sober. Vin will forgive you in time."  
  
"Has Krys said anything 'bout it?" asks Chris.  
  
"I haven't spoke to her all night, I left her alone with Vin," answers Lu.  
  
"I don't want no kanoodling in my camp," says Chris, visualising Vin with a pregnant girlfriend.  
  
"Don't be mean," says Lu.  
  
"I'm not mean. I jus' don' want no babymakin' happenin' here." Says Chris, only wanting what's best for his best friend.  
  
Lu starts laughing, as JD comes into the tent. JD looks at her, amazed that she can laugh when the two men have fallen out; "What's so funny?"  
  
"He don't want no babymakin' happenin' here," says Lu, through her laughs.  
  
JD starts laughing as well. "Babymakin'...hahahaha...who's doin' that?"  
  
"Vin and Krys."  
  
"I jus' saw them wading in the stream and they weren't babymakin'," says JD, managing to stop laughing.  
  
Chris looks relieved; "Thank god!"  
  
"Did ya really try to sleep with Krys?" asks JD.  
  
"No way. I tried to kiss her."  
  
Ezra comes into the tent, from outside where he was listening, "You admit to it then."  
  
Chris looks at him in realisation; "I'm startin' ta remember."  
  
"You bettah apologise to Mr Tannah soon. As he, 'wants ta beat ya senseless at the momen'.his exact words!" says Ezra.  
  
Chris shivers, knowing the extent of damage that Vin can cause to a man.  
  
"You're not scared of Vin are you?" asks JD.  
  
"Course not," lies Chris.  
  
*******  
  
Chris gets up (he's already dressed) and walks towards the stream.  
  
Vin calls to him; "Ya ready to 'pologise Larabee?"  
  
"No I'm not, Tanner."  
  
"Fine!" Vin swims away from Chris  
  
Chris takes off his pants and shirt and jumps into the stream  
  
He wades towards Vin and Krys. Chris decides to apologise, despite his friend calling him by his surname; "I'm sorry Vin."  
  
"I don't accept your apology, go ta hell Larabee!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I already have a best friend and soul mate. I don' need no doublecrossin' lying..." answers Vin.  
  
Chris goes back to shore heartbroken and meets Ezra and Nate there talking.  
  
JD comes along; "What happened?"  
  
"He don't need me no more. He has Krys now."  
  
Josiah limps along unaware of everything that's happened since Chris got drunk; "When can we leave?"  
  
Chris who wished he had a towel as he's soaking wet, replies, "I don't know. I'm stayin' here."  
  
"Mistah Larabee, that would be an unwise decision!" says Ezra.  
  
"No-one wants me anymore!" says Chris.  
  
Ezra puts his arm around Chris, then rapidly removes it; "Of course we do Mr Larabee. We need you old man. You know that. "  
  
"Who you callin' old?" asks Chris, glaring at Ezra.  
  
"Did I say old? I meant mature! But you know we look up to you and appreciate you so much," says Ezra in an attempt to cheer the blond up.  
  
Chris picks up his clothes and goes back into his tent to dry off.  
  
"I think that snake bite's gotten to Vin's brain!" says Josiah.  
  
"That's impossible!" argues JD.  
  
"This ain't the x-files!" agrees Nathan.  
  
"Maybe SHE wanted this to occur," suggests Ezra.  
  
"I thought she was good now!" says JD sounding confused.  
  
"What you BELIEVE is true and what IS true are entirely different things," says Ezra.  
  
Vin and Krys come along and Buck approaches from his tent and joins them all.  
  
"We've got some great news ta share with y'all!" says Vin loudly.  
  
Krys holds up her finger to reveal she's wearing a ring on her engagement finger. Everyone tries not to look upset or too surprised. "We're engaged, isn't that great?" the girl says with a big smile on her face.  
  
JD smiles back, trying to look happy and says, " Great."  
  
The gang separates and go into their tents leaving Vin and Krys behind.  
  
"They didn't seem very thrilled," says Krys on the brink of crying.  
  
Vin puts his arm around her; "They're just very surprised, it'll take a while to sink in."  
  
Chris comes out of his tent with Buck, who just told him the news. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE UP TO VIN TANNER?" shouts Chris, walking up close to Vin.  
  
"I'm madly in love with Krys and I want to marry her."  
  
"You only just met her. You're goin' crazy!"  
  
Vin and Krys walk away.  
  
"How are we gonna get Vin out of this?" asks Buck.  
  
To be continued. 


	5. Part 4: The Snake

Thanks to Raiders of the Lost Arc for giving me the idea of something Chris could be scared.  
  
Part 4: The Snake  
  
Chris goes into his tent, upset at Vin's news and starts throwing things on the floor. Buck comes into the tent to talk to him.  
  
"You know we're all behind you and we all think Vin's being led astray by his new girlfriend," says Buck.  
  
"They're in love. They aren't doing anythin' wrong," says Chris.  
  
"They shouldn' be getting' engaged yet."  
  
Chris goes outside and sees something small coming towards him fast. He steps aside and it lands on the ground behind him. He goes over to it and picks it up and discovers it's a dart. He carefully picks it up and goes to Nathan's tent where he knows Nathan is.   
  
"Nate, can you look at this?" he asks the team medic. Chris puts the dart on the small foldout table, which Nathan has in the tent.   
  
Nathan picks it up and examines it, then asks, "Where did you get this?"  
  
"It was flying towards me outside - I moved just in time. Is it poisonous?" asks the blond man.  
  
Nathan sniffs the dart; "Smells poisonous to me. You had a lucky escape."  
  
"Why'd someone shoot at me with a dart?" asks Chris.  
  
Buck comes into the tent hearing Chris's question. "Someone's tryin' to get you?"  
  
"Why'd anyone want to get me?"  
  
"D'you think it's Krys?" asks Nathan, still suspicious of the girl.  
  
"No, she's a nice girl, she wouldn't want to kill me," says Chris.  
  
"Maybe she thinks you might persuade Vin to break off the engagement."  
  
"I wouldn't do that because I know it wouldn't work."  
  
Chris goes out of the tent, then he goes back into his own one and lies on top of his sleeping bag.  
  
He jumps up suddenly and opens his sleeping bag and jumps back. There's a huge snake in it. He runs out of the tent terrified. He's shouting obscenities.  
  
Everyone except Vin and Krys gather outside upon hearing Chris's swearing.  
  
"What's wrong now?" asks Nathan, looking at Chris curiously.  
  
"There's a s-s-s-s-s-s...." stutters Chris.  
  
"A what?" asks Buck.  
  
"A s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s in my bed!" says Chris, too scared to say the word.  
  
"Spider? You wimp!" says Nathan, not knowing that Chris is afraid of snakes.  
  
"Not a spider. A SNAKE!" says Chris.  
  
"I bet it's a little one!" says JD.  
  
"No, it's a huge one!" answers Chris.  
  
"Don't look at me, I hate snakes!" says Nathan.  
  
"Me too!" agrees Lu.  
  
"Someone PLEASE get rid of it," says Chris, looking around at the guys who aren't scared.  
  
Vin comes out of his tent; "What's all the noise?"  
  
"There's a s-s-snake in my bed!"  
  
"Maybe it's tired," says Vin, trying to hide a grin.  
  
"A big snake!" says Chris, glaring at the Texan.  
  
"It's not doin' any harm."  
  
"Did you put it there?" asks Chris.  
  
"No I've been… chatting to Krys," says Vin.   
  
"No kanoodling in my camp, Tanner!" says Chris, glaring at the blonde-haired Texan.  
  
"I'm chattin' ta her, not kanoodlin'."  
  
"You wanna have babies, go and find another camp."  
  
"Fine, that snake can stay there then!" says Vin, turning back towards Krys's tent  
  
"Please get it out, no one else will!" begs Chris.  
  
"I don't wanna, this is a chance for you ta overcome your fear of snakes, Larabee."  
  
"Vin, don't be so mean to him," says Josiah, defending Chris.  
  
"You wanna be kicked out of my camp, Tanner?" says Chris, raising his voice.  
  
"Krys and me can leave on our own anyway."  
  
"Leave then!"  
  
"We don' wanna leave yet."  
  
Chris suddenly punches Vin and the Texan falls down. Chris walks towards the stream.  
  
"You okay Vin?" asks Nathan, walking over to the man lying on the ground.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Didn' see that comin'!" says Vin.  
  
"You're an ASS, Vin. We all saw it comin'," says Buck, walking over.  
  
"Krys and me are leavin' then. Chris will jest have ta sleep with the snake tonight!"  
  
"At least move the snake for him, Tanner," requests Buck.  
  
Vin goes back into Krys' tent.  
  
"What was that about?" asks the girl.  
  
"Chris thinks I put a big snake in his bed," answers Vin.  
  
"You wouldn' do that ta him."  
  
Vin stays quiet in answer to her question.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Outside they are debating who should retrieve the snake.  
  
"Maybe we should draw straws?" suggests Buck.  
  
"No way. I'd draw the short one," says JD.  
  
"Poor Chris, I didn't think he was scared of anything," says Nathan.  
  
"I was aware of Mr Larabee's phobia before this particular incident…although may I just point out that I was not the miscreant that placed it in our illustrious leader's bed! However the creature couldn't have gotten there by itself!" says Ezra, speaking for the first time in ages.  
  
"When I catch the person who put it there, I'm gonna kill 'em," says Buck.  
  
"How ya gonna kill 'em?" says Nathan, humouring him.  
  
"I'm gonna hang 'em from the nearest jungle tree."  
  
Chris comes along; "Has anyone got that snake out yet?"  
  
"No, but we decided how to kill the person who put it there!" says Nathan, grinning.  
  
"It probably just got there itself," says Chris, hardly believing that one of his friends would do it.  
  
"No, I believe it had help to get there - someone must have put it there," says Josiah.  
  
"Must've been the same person who tried to shoot me with a dart."  
  
"Maybe it's natives trying to get rid of us," suggests JD.  
  
"All this talking's not gettin' rid of the snake," says Chris.  
  
JD goes into Chris's tent and sees the snake asleep on Chris's bed. "Whoa, he's huge!" says the young man. JD goes out of the tent.  
  
"He's asleep!" JD announces.  
  
"Sleep on the bus 'til it goes away," says Buck.  
  
"I've had enough of this place, we're leavin'!" says Chris, standing up from where he was sitting on the ground.  
  
Everyone goes and packs their tents up, all except Chris and Vin's tents. Vin and Krys are still in Krys's tent.   
  
Vin comes out of the tent; "What's this? You evacuatin'?"  
  
"We're leavin'" says JD.  
  
"Where to?" asks Vin.  
  
"We're going home," says Nathan.  
  
"Was you jus' gonna leave us here?" asks Vin.  
  
Ezra comes running along; "Gentlemen, we appear to have company!"  
  
Suddenly army men with rifles surround them!  
  
A man who's a captain walks over; "Stay where you are, we have you surrounded!"  
  
"What? We ain't done nothin'." Says Vin.  
  
"We are here to arrest ATF Team 7 for crimes against the United States of America!"  
  
"You're talking rubbish!" says Chris smiling.  
  
"Drop your weapons," orders the Captain.  
  
"We haven't got any weapons!" says Josiah, showing his empty hands.  
  
"You can't be out here without no protection," says the Captain.  
  
"I wasn' expectin' to meet any ladies out here in the jungle sir!" says Buck, misunderstanding.  
  
The Captain glares at Buck.  
  
"We haven't committed any crimes, Sir," says Chris.  
  
"That's what they all say. You have to come along with us."  
  
"Sure, then we can prove our innocence."  
  
"I'm not coming, I'm not in ATF Team 7," says Vin.  
  
"Yes you are, Vincent Tanner"  
  
Buck goes towards the Captain; "What crimes?"  
  
"Buck Wilmington?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The Captain puts handcuffs onto Buck; "You are under arrest!"  
  
"I don't believe this!" says Buck.  
  
"The girls can go, they aren't wanted for any crimes. The rest of you will come with us to temporary holding cells."  
  
Chris tells the girls to stay on the bus while they are gone - they will be back very soon.  
  
"We ain't done nothin'!" says Vin, as another man handcuffs him.  
  
"We have witnesses," says the man.  
  
"Witnesses?" asks Buck in disbelief.  
  
"Please come along quietly. You have the right to remain silent..." says the Captain.  
  
"We know our rights, Captain," says Chris.  
  
They get into the army vehicles and are driven to a small jail building at the outskirts of a town.  
  
They are put into two cells: Chris, Buck and Ezra in one and Vin, JD, Josiah and Nathan in the other. They are left alone.  
  
"What do we do now?" asks Vin looking around at the bars of the cell.  
  
"Pray for our innocence to be quickly proven," answers Josiah.   
  
"They will find out we are innocent, we just have to go along with it," says Chris, sitting on one of the foam mattresses on the floor.  
  
"Do you think Krys' ex-boyfriend set us up?" says Buck  
  
"You could be right," says Josiah, leaning against the wall.  
  
The Captain comes back in. "Okay, you'll have to stay here a while."  
  
"We haven't done anything wrong, we're innocent," states Chris loudly and sternly.  
  
The Captain points to Chris and says, "Innocent? You committed the murder of General Ellis!"  
  
"Murdered a general?" asks Buck, "you're kiddin'!"  
  
"I wouldn't joke about a serious matter like that. I'm not surprised you're acting all innocent when you helped him. The rest of your friends helped you avoid the law until we had a witness tell us where you were."  
  
"You're wrong. Someone has set us up," says Vin.  
  
"Can you prove that?" asks the Captain, not taking the Texan seriously. The Captain walks out locking the door behind him.  
  
"Perhaps we can escape!" suggests Buck, looking hopefully at the barred windows.  
  
Chris sits on the stone ground, thinking about this, then stands up and says, "I'm not gonna run away when I'm innocent. That will only make things worse."  
  
They get onto the foam mattresses (there's just enough for them all) and soon fall asleep, as they can't think of anything better to do.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Meanwhile back at the camp, the girls are sitting on the bus talking.  
  
"We gotta get them released," says Krys, realising that unless the men are released the girls will be stranded there.  
  
"I didn't think you cared that much," says Lu.  
  
"You was wrong. We can't let them rot in jail," says Krys, already starting to miss her fiancé Vin.  
  
"We don't even know where they are!" points out Lu.  
  
"We can follow the tyre tracks."  
  
They get off the bus, closing the doors behind them. Krys locks the bus, as Chris gave her the keys.  
  
They start to follow the tyre tracks. After half an hour, they come to a town.  
  
Krys stops a local woman and asks in Spanish, "Is there a jail here?"  
  
The woman answers back in the same language, "Other side of town."  
  
Krys thanks her in Spanish and the two girls start walking to the other side of town.  
  
They finally reach the jail.  
  
"Now what?" asks Lu.  
  
"One of these window's gotta be where they are," answers Krys eyeing several barred windows on the side of the building.  
  
They look through windows until they can see the guys in cells inside.  
  
Krys whispers, "Hey Vin!"  
  
Vin wakes up hearing his beloved's voice. He walks to the window and whispers, "Did you walk all this way to find us?"  
  
"Course' we did. Didn' think we were gonna do nothin' do ya?" answers his fiancée.  
  
"You can't get us out though."  
  
"Sure we can. I can pick the locks to this place easy." Krys picks the lock on the front of the building after looking through the windows and seeing there's no guards there. They find their way to the cells and Krys picks the cell doors and the guys all file out.  
  
"Thought you didn' want ta escape Chris?" says Vin.  
  
"After a few hours in there I don' care, let's get out of here," answers the Texan's best friend.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
They all go back to camp as fast as they can. They pack up the tents after Vin has removed the snake, which was still in Chris's tent.  
  
"You wanna call a truce Chris?" says Vin.  
  
"Can we be best friends again?" asks his friend.  
  
"Yes of course - we never stopped being best friends!"  
  
Chris and Vin smile at each other briefly.  
  
Everything is packed up and they go back to the bus and load up, ready to go home.  
  
"I don' like driving at night," grumbles Chris.  
  
"Can't stay here, they might come after us," says Vin, looking back towards the town, expecting the army men to come looking for them at any moment.  
  
"Are we fugitives now?" asks JD, sounding excited at the idea.  
  
"Course not, we didn't do nothing wrong," says Nathan.  
  
"I want everyone to forget about it. We never got arrested, okay?" orders Chris, knowing Travis wouldn't be pleased to hear that the men got arrested, even if it was on false accusations.  
  
"We never did find out who put that snake in your bed, Chris!" says Nathan, changing the subject.  
  
"IT WAS ME!" shouts Vin, as a huge grin starts to appear on his face.  
  
Chris aims a punch at Vin, but Krys gets between them and stops the punch.  
  
"Just forget it okay!" says the girl.  
  
"I got my revenge fer you tryin' ta kiss my girl."  
  
"If that had bitten me, you would have been sorry," says Chris, glaring at Vin.  
  
Vin ignores the glare, then says, "I knew you wouldn' let it get close enough fer that."  
  
"Everyone get to your seats. No arguing over seats this time," orders Chris strictly.  
  
Buck quickly gets his seat before Krys can, so her and Vin sit away from Buck instead.  
  
To be continued… 


	6. Part 5: Flight Home

Part 5: Flight Home  
  
"I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten for ages," complains Buck looking down at his stomach, expecting it to groan.  
  
"You should've eaten that food they offered us in jail," says Chris from his driver's seat.  
  
"Are you CRAZY?" exclaims Buck, remembering the sort of food prisoners have to eat.  
  
"We didn' even have breakfast this mornin'," joins in Vin, thinking he could eat just about anything now.  
  
"Can we stop talkin' 'bout food?" requests Buck, as his stomach starts to feel really empty.  
  
"You started it!" says Vin.  
  
"I'm finishin' it. Can we go to McDonalds?" replies Buck.  
  
"This is a jungle - no fast food here," reminds Vin.  
  
"Let's get the next flight home then," suggests Buck.  
  
"Our return tickets are for a week's time, Buckley," says Chris, wondering how much longer it will be before he ends up shooting someone, if he only had a gun.  
  
"Hey, let's forget about those, let's charter a plane home, I'm gettin' homesick," says Vin.  
  
"Have to be the cheapest plane available!" says Chris.  
  
"I got a pilot's license," offers Buck.  
  
"Don't even think about it; I can fly a plane perfectly well," says Chris. He starts to think about what would happen if they let Buck fly them home.  
  
"Since when?" asks Vin in surprise.  
  
"Since I was 24," answers Chris, remembering his flying lessons.  
  
"Have ya got your license with you though?" asks Buck, remembering he didn't think to bring his with him.  
  
Chris pulls the bus over to the side of the road, then finds his license and shows it to Buck. Buck looks at it annoyed, and then hands it back to Chris.  
  
"If you get to fly the plane, can I drive us now?" asks Vin, eager to do something as he's getting bored just sitting down.  
  
"NO! I'm still hurt about that snake trick you pulled on me."  
  
"That snake trick was only revenge fer what you did."  
  
"It was uncalled for," says Chris.  
  
"How about we all stop fighting and drive to the nearest airport?" speaks up Lu, annoyed at all this disharmony within the group.  
  
"And steal a plane?" suggests Nathan.  
  
"No. We'll rent a plane and fly home, do you want to end up in jail again?" says Lu.  
  
"We'd get away with it, we're ATF!"  
  
"Nathan, what's up with you lately? Snap out of it NOW, and THAT'S an order!" says Chris. He looks at the team medic, thinking that maybe the vacation is starting to get to the man.  
  
"He's gonna get us inta more trouble an' danger if he doesn' start behavin', "says Vin.  
  
Suddenly, a police car comes toward the bus with its siren going. It overtakes them and stops in front of the bus. Chris gets off the bus and walks to the car, which has the window down, as it's such a hot day. Chris looks in the window at a North American-looking policeman and asks, "Is there a problem, Officer?"  
  
"We're looking for some fugitives, who're on the run, have you seen anyone suspicious looking?" answers policeman.  
  
"Yes, there were some guys in the jungle, but I don't know where they went. Sorry," says Chris.  
  
"Okay son. Where are you headed?" asks the policeman.  
  
"We need to find the nearest airport to hire a plane to get a flight back to North America."  
  
The policeman takes a map out of his pocket and says, "Here - have this. The nearest airport is clearly marked."  
  
"Thanks, have a nice day!" says Chris, accepting the map from him.  
  
"You too, sir." The policeman drives off.  
  
Chris gets back on the bus with the map. "Okay, the airport's 10 miles away from here. Won't be long now," he tells them.  
  
"What if we can't get a plane?" frets Lu, thinking it's very short notice to get a plane.  
  
"We will persuade someone that we urgently need a plane. We're ATF Team 7 remember," answers Chris with a grin.  
  
"Me and Krys could pretend to be your prisoners if you like," suggests Lu, thinking that this might make it look more urgent for them to need to get home.  
  
"I'll be Vin's prisoner!" says Krys  
  
"We don't need to exaggerate to get a flight home, but thanks for suggestin' it," replies Chris with a small chuckle.  
  
"Can we pick up that hitchhiker over there?" asks Krys, while looking out of the window.  
  
"NO WAY!" refuses Chris.  
  
"If I was drivin' I would pick him up," says Buck.  
  
"You'd rather it was a female hitchhiker though!" states Nathan.  
  
Buck nods and smiles in agreement.  
  
"We could miss out on something if we don't pick him up," says Vin.  
  
Chris feels hesitant about picking up a hitchhiker and says, "He could pull a gun on us."  
  
"Please can we pick him up? I want to know where he's going and who he is," asks Vin.  
  
"Okay but if he pulls a gun out, YOU can protect us!" Chris stops the bus, stands up and opens the doors.  
  
"Hi, where ya headed?" asks the stranger.  
  
"To get a flight home to North America," says Chris, not liking the look of this man.  
  
"Just where I'm headed. I got a brother at the airport who's gonna fly us home. Maybe he could take you guys as well, his plane's jus' big enough."  
  
"I was gonna charter us a plane - I've got a pilot's license," says Chris.  
  
"You'll never get a plane at short notice here," replies the stranger.  
  
"Where abouts in the states do you live?" asks JD.  
  
"Nashville, Tennessee."  
  
"Let's go there for a while; I've never been there," says JD.  
  
"My sister owns a guesthouse there, she'd put y'all up," says the stranger.  
  
"Thanks, that's very kind," says Chris, deciding that maybe the stranger's not so bad.  
  
"Two of my other sisters cook there - best food in the whole state," says the stranger.  
  
"How many sisters do you have?" asks JD.  
  
"I got 6 sisters and 5 brothers," answers the stranger.  
  
"Your parents had 12 children?" exclaims Vin, clearly surprised.  
  
"Not all together they didn'! The name's Will by the way," says Will.  
  
"I'm Buck. Are your sisters all married?" says Buck.  
  
"Two of my sisters are married and the others are single. Are you looking for a girlfriend?" says Will.  
  
"Could be."  
  
Will gets onto the bus and sits next to Buck who he is getting on well with. Chris is now driving them to the airport.  
  
"Let's play 20 questions," says JD, forgetting how Buck ruined it last time.  
  
"I've got one," says Krys.  
  
"Is it a vegetable?" asks Buck.  
  
"No."  
  
"Animal?" asks Lu.  
  
"Yes," answers Krys.  
  
"Does it fly?" asks Vin.  
  
"Yes, onto question 4."  
  
"Is it a bird?" asks Buck.  
  
"Nope," answers Krys.  
  
"A bat?" asks Lu.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"A butterfly?" guesses Buck.  
  
"Yes. You gonna think of one now?" says Krys, glad that someone finally got it.  
  
"No, let's play I spy. I spy with my little eye something beginning with S," says Buck who's no good at twenty questions.  
  
"Seat?" guesses Lu.  
  
"Nope," answers Buck shaking his head.  
  
"Shoe?" guesses Vin.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Mr. Standish?" asks Vin.  
  
"Good guess but... nope."  
  
"Spider?" guesses Lu.  
  
"Nope," answers Buck, thinking that no one will ever guess right.  
  
Vin guesses whilst looking towards Chris, "Snake?"  
  
Chris forgets they're playing I spy and asks, "WHERE?" and tries to drive whilst worrying about it.  
  
"I was only guessin' Chris," says Vin, starting to laugh.  
  
Chris glares at him; "Don't say that word again."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Nope," says Buck jokingly.  
  
"Don't be stupid, ass. That wasn' a guess," says Vin angrily.  
  
"Give up?" asks Buck.  
  
"No. Sky?" guesses Lu.  
  
" I thought no one was gonna get it!" says Buck, whilst nodding at Lu.  
  
"It's too noisy on here. Everyone be quiet 'til we get there now," orders Chris, who's starting to get a headache.  
  
Will is asleep in his chair and Buck is looking out the window. They are quiet for a while until they get to the airport.  
  
They push and shove to get off the bus, as they are desperate to get home to the States.   
  
"No pushin'," orders Chris.  
  
Will leads them to his brother's plane.  
  
Chris looks at the small plane and asks, "Will that fit all of us in it?"  
  
"Sure it will," answers their new friend, leading them over to a man who looks slightly similar to him. "This is my brother Patrick."  
  
"Top o' the morning to ya," greets Patrick, sounding a lot different from Will.  
  
"Your brother's Irish!" exclaims JD in surprise.  
  
"He's really my step-brother," explains Will.  
  
"Ahh."  
  
"How long have you been flying?" Chris asks the Irish brother.  
  
"Since I was a beebee!" answers Patrick.  
  
"Wow!" says JD.  
  
"We have to go NOW. Weathers gonna change soon," explains Will.  
  
"Looks okay ta me!" says Vin, looking at the blue sky.  
  
"Strong winds forecast for later," says Patrick.  
  
They get onto the plane and manage to find space to sit down, but it's a bit cramped.  
  
"Buck, move over, yer crowding me," complains Vin, feeling a bit claustrophobic on the small plane.  
  
"I have nowhere to move to," complains Buck.  
  
"Move over anyway!" orders Vin.  
  
Buck gets up to try and move over but Will glares at him and orders, "Sit down, we're taking off." Buck quickly sits down again.  
  
The plane rapidly takes off, but is a bit wobbly. "Is this thing all right?" asks Chris, concerned for their safety.  
  
"Jus' a bit of turbulence," explains Will.  
  
The plane gets higher and starts flying faster and faster.  
  
"We're gonna die!" yells JD, feeling terrified.  
  
"My brother's jus' eager to get home. We've been away from there a long time," says Will, inwardly cursing his brother for his flying.  
  
"Workin' here?" asks Vin.  
  
"No, we jus' been having a long holiday."  
  
They soon arrive in Nashville, Tennessee and land on a small airstrip.  
  
There are some men and women with children waiting for them.   
  
"Looks like the whole family turned out to meet us!" says Vin counting the people.  
  
"They musta really missed you guys!" says JD.  
  
They get off the plane and approach the crowd.  
  
"This is my sister Clara, my sister Alison and my sister Alice," introduces Will.  
  
"These are my kids: Ed who's 5, Joanne who's 6, Carrie who's 7 and a half, then there's Joseph who's 10, Jim-bob who's 11 and finally Louis who's 14."  
  
"All these kids are yours?" says Buck in disbelief.  
  
"Yes. All my nephews and nieces are at home at the moment," says Patrick, wondering why Buck's surprised.  
  
"It's gettin' late, let's go to my sister's guesthouse, it's on the other side of town," says Will, eager to get home.  
  
They get into cars, which are parked there. All Will's brothers are the drivers plus Will and Patrick  
  
Buck ends up sitting between two of the sisters. "Hi, I'm Buck," he says smiling at them.  
  
"That's a pretty name, I'm Clara," says Clara, looking him up and down trying to decide what to make of him.  
  
"I'm Alice. I was named after Alice in Wonderland because of my blonde hair," says Alice, wishing Clara wasn't there as well, as she fancies Buck.  
  
"It's very fine hair. Are either of you two married?" asks Buck.  
  
"No. It wouldn' suit our career to be married," answers Alice.  
  
"What do you do?" asks Buck, wondering what jobs would stop these pretty women from marrying.  
  
Clara winks at Buck and says; "We'll show you at the guesthouse when we get there."  
  
"Great!" says Buck grinning.  
  
To be continued… 


	7. Part 6: Tennessee

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
Some Het. in this story, but nothing inappropriate for a PG certificate. The extra characters in this part are all original characters created by me.  
  
Part 6: Tennessee

They arrive at the guesthouse and unload from the cars.  
  
Buck follows Clara into the hallway of the guesthouse. She leads him up some stairs into a daintily decorated area, where he meets several other women dressed up very scantily. They all smile at him.  
  
"Who are they?" asks Buck, already having a good idea.  
  
"They are my work associates," explains Clara, as if they work in a normal legitimate job.  
  
"Do you usually dress like them?"  
  
"Yes, but I couldn' welcome my brothers dressed like it though," answers Clara, smiling at the idea.  
  
Vin has come up behind them wondering where they were going and has overheard the conversation. He exclaims, "You're a whore?"  
  
"I wouldn' say I'm a whore. We are here to entertain the male guests if they need entertainin'. Does either of you two boys need entertainin'?" she asks with a sweet smile.  
  
"No, thanks," replies Vin.  
  
He pulls Buck back downstairs with him against Buck's will. Buck sadly waves to the girls as he leaves.  
  
Vin takes Buck to one side and says quietly, "I'm beginnin' to have my doubts 'bout this place. I don' trust those two brothers. I think we should all leave here and get home."  
  
"Can we stay and make friends with the ladies first?" asks Buck.  
  
"No, Buck. We don't need no whores for friends."  
  
Meanwhile, Will is showing the others around. The group look around and notice that wallpaper is peeling, there are dirty marks on the walls and floors and things are falling apart. There are even some lights flickering in places.  
  
Chris whispers to JD, "We can't stay here, this place is too cheap - It's fallin' apart."  
  
"You're right. Let's find Vin and Buck and leave this place quickly," answers JD.  
  
Chris tells Will, "As nice as this place is, we have to get home."  
  
"You haven' seen my sisters' dance yet," answers Will, with a smile.  
  
"We have to get home, I'm sorry," apologises Chris.   
  
"Okay."  
  
Buck and Vin come along and they all go outside. They see men with rifles running towards them (although no-one knows why they are chasing them) and start running down a road as fast as they can.  
  
"I have found out that those two brothers have been in prison for murder," reveals Josiah, who had wandered around the house with Nathan, unnoticed by anyone.  
  
"Murder?" says Buck, hardly believing his ears.  
  
"Keep runnin', they look mighty angry about something," says Chris, regretting ever picking up the hitchhiker.  
  
Buck has an idea and dials a number on a mobile phone he's taken out of his pocket. He manages to do all this while he's still running.  
  
"What are you doin' Buck?" asks Chris, who's running alongside his friend.   
  
Buck speaks into the phone when a voice answers it; "Hi, it's Bucklin, you said if I was ever in Tennessee I should look you up."  
  
"Bucklin? Where are you?" asks a woman's voice on the other end.   
  
"We just left a guesthouse ran by whores and criminals," explains Buck.   
  
"We don't have any of those here. Find your way to Memphis Rail Station and I'll put y'all up," says the woman.  
  
"There's a truck comin', we'll see if he can give us a lift to Memphis. I'll see you soon darlin'. Bye," says Buck, then hangs up.   
  
Chris approaches the cab, which has stopped after noticing Chris waving, "Hi, we need to get to Memphis."  
  
"That's the other way," answers the very masculine looking driver.   
  
Vin gets out his ATF ID card and says, "We need to use your truck, please vacate it now."  
  
"Ya ain' usin' ma truck!" argues the driver, not bothering to read the ID card.  
  
Vin takes his gun out which he had hidden on him and points it at the driver.  
  
The driver looks scared and hurriedly gets out; "Okay, take it - I'll put stolen on my insurance claim."  
  
Everyone except Chris and Vin get into the back of the flatbed truck.  
  
Chris and Vin get in the cab and Chris starts it up. Vin finds a map in the glove compartment. Vin points at the map; "We're here and Memphis is here."  
  
"I can't look at where 'here' is AND drive!" answers Chris, who's started up the engine.  
  
"We need ta go east ta get to Memphis Rail Station," says Vin.   
  
"You want me to drive through that general store, Vin?" asks Chris mockingly.   
  
"We'll have to find a way around, obviously."  
  
In the back of the truck, Buck and Krys are chatting.  
  
"How do ya know Dorothy?" asks the girl.  
  
"An old girlfriend - you'll love her," answers Buck   
  
"Why would I love an old girlfriend of yours?" asks Krys, puzzled.   
  
"She's great."  
  
"I thought all women were great to you."   
  
"Not if they prefer Vin to me they ain't," answers Buck.  
  
"I wonder why they'd prefer Vin to you?" says Krys.  
  
Nathan and Josiah have finished their conversation and are listening to Buck and Krys.   
  
Nathan decides to answer Krys's question, "How many reasons do you need?"  
  
"It didn' need no answerin'." says Krys, annoyed.   
  
"Stop talkin' 'bout me," shouts Buck, agitated.  
  
"What's this old girlfriend do?" asks Krys curiously.   
  
"She's married and has some little kids now."   
  
"You'll fit right in then!" laughs Nathan.   
  
They get to Memphis and drive to the rail station and there's a very glamorous woman with long, dark brown hair, leaning against a red sports car parked nearby.  
  
Buck gets out of the truck and rushes towards her. He kisses her, but she shrugs him off. The woman, who's obviously Dorothy, says in a Tennessee accent, "Bucklin, behave yourself."  
  
Chris walks towards her; "Hi, I'm Chris Larabee, ma'am."  
  
JD approaches Dorothy and offers his hand, "Hi ma'am, I'm JD Dunne. I'm pleased to meet you."  
  
"I'm pleased to meet y'all. There's plenty of room at my house for y'all to stay a while. What brings y'all to Tennessee, anyway?" asks Dorothy, smiling pleasantly at the group.  
  
"We're just passing through. We couldn't get a direct flight to our home state so we ended up here. As we've still got some vacation time left, we were thinking about staying away a while longer," explained Chris, immediately liking his old friend's ex-girlfriend. He decided not to tell her yet about the idol they had flown to South America for.  
  
"You can meet my kids. It's a shame you can't meet my husband, but he's out of town at the moment," says Dorothy.  
  
Buck smiles accidentally. 'Yes, it is such a shame!' he thinks.  
  
"Don't go getting' no ideas in your head, Bucklin," says Dorothy sternly, noticing the smile.  
  
Buck gets into the car beside Dorothy, while the others return to the truck and drive behind her car to the house. There are three young children playing on the huge front porch that surrounds the front of the large white three-storey house.   
  
The children stop playing and look at the truck. "There's lotsa men and a few women in tha' truck!" exclaims the smallest boy with short dark brown hair, whose name is Billy.  
  
"Are they army men and women?" asks the little blonde-haired girl called Jane. She'd seen army people in a truck on a film the night before.  
  
"They ain't wearing army clothes, silly," replies the other brown-haired boy, Freddy.   
  
"Perhaps they're in disguise." suggests Jane.   
  
"I'm scared!" says Billy.  
  
Dorothy gets out of her car and calls the kids to her. "I've bought some friends to stay with us for a while," she tells them.  
  
The children run to the men and women who are standing outside the truck talking.  
  
"Hello," greets Billy.   
  
"Hi, what's yer name?" asks Buck, smiling at the boy who looks quite like a young version of Buck.  
  
"I'm Billy; this is my sister Jane and my brother Freddy."  
  
"You three better get washed up for dinner. Cook said it would be ready in ten minutes," says Dorothy, approaching her children.  
  
The kids run into the house obediently and Buck watches them leave. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse," he mutters.  
  
"I think I saw some on the way here," replies Vin.  
  
"Good grief, you're not going to hunt them are you?" asks Lu, horrified.   
  
"Don't be so silly, I was only expressin' how hungry I am," replies Buck.  
  
"For a minute there, I thought you was being serious!"  
  
"There's plenty of food here for everyone. I told cook y'all were coming and she cooked plenty. There won't be any need for Bucklin or anyone else to go huntin' horses," says Dorothy.   
  
"There're nine of us!" says Buck, wondering how she'll have enough food to feed them all.   
  
"Don't worry, there'll be plenty for everyone," reassures Dorothy.  
  
They follow Dorothy into the house. It's a very clean house and everything is tidy. It's also a very big house with huge rooms.  
  
Chris notices a girl about five foot five with long blonde curly hair. She looks to be in her early twenties. She takes their coats and hangs them on coat hooks for them.  
  
"Hi, I'm Chris," greets Chris, noticing that she's looking at him and looks interested in him.  
  
Shirley replies in a gentle voice with an English accent, "Hi, I'm Shirley. Are you staying long, Chris?"  
  
"I'm not sure." The blonde tries to remember what day it is and how many days they have left, but can't.  
  
"There's a spare room next to mine - maybe you could stay in there," suggests Shirley, hoping they will stay at least one night. The blonde man is the most handsome guy she's ever seen.  
  
"Sounds good ta me!" says Chris, flashing her a brief smile.   
  
Vin creeps up on Chris, who's staring into space, after Shirley has gone upstairs. He makes a kissing noise and Chris turns around startled.  
  
"What're ya doing? You don't ever fall fer women," criticises Vin.  
  
"Don't you think she's nice?" says Chris.  
  
"We're not here to get girlfriends, Chris," informs Vin.  
  
"Yer engaged, Tanner!" retorts Chris.   
  
JD comes along and asks them, "Are you having a meeting about something?"  
  
"No, kid. Jus' talkin'," answers Vin.   
  
"I think dinner's ready - but you got to wash your hands first, Dorothy says," informs JD.  
  
Chris and Vin go and wash their hands in the downstairs bathroom, then join the rest of their group in the large dining room.  
  
They all sit down to dinner around a huge rectangular wooden table with Dorothy at the head. The children are sat at a smaller table nearby.  
  
"Thanks for lettin' us stay here, darlin'," says Buck, with a smile.   
  
"I enjoy the company, Bucklin," replies Dorothy.   
  
Chris is served his dinner by Shirley and smiles at her; she smiles back.  
  
Dorothy notices and says, "Shirley could show you guys aroun' town tomorrow."  
  
"I'd be delighted to do that," says Shirley.  
  
"Sounds fun," says Chris.   
  
The others turn and look at Chris, amazed upon hearing him say the word 'fun'. Chris just glares at them and they go back to their dinner. When they finish eating, they head off to their bedrooms to help make up beds.  
  
Shirley finishes working and goes to her room. Chris silently follows her without anyone noticing. The guys and girls meet in Vin, Buck and JD's room to talk for a while before bed.  
  
"It's really great stayin' here. Let's stay for the whole week," says JD.   
  
"I think Chris is enjoyin' it as well," says Vin, smiling.  
  
"What makes you say that?" asks Buck, completely oblivious to the lovesick Chris.   
  
"Didn' you see him smilin' at Shirley?" says Vin, in astonishment.  
  
"You mean he's in love?" asks JD, not remembering the last time Chris was in love.   
  
"Chris don' fall in love!" exclaims Vin, feeling sure that Chris has never been in love since he had his wife Sarah.  
  
"Has anyone noticed where Mistah Larabee has effectively disappeared to at this precise moment?" asks Ezra.   
  
"You don't expect him to be here do you?" asks Josiah.   
  
"His room is right next to Shirley's," explains Nathan.  
  
Meanwhile, Chris knocks on Shirley's door.  
  
"Who is it?" asks Shirley from inside.   
  
"It's Chris," replies the blonde.  
  
Shirley opens the door. She is wearing quite a see-through nightdress. She smiles at the blonde man and says invitingly, "Hi Chris, come in."  
  
Chris walks into the bedroom and sits on the bed, looking at the girl in awe.  
  
"How do you like the house?" asks Shirley.   
  
"Really beautiful, same as you," answers Chris.  
  
"Thanks," says Shirley sitting down onto the bed, next to Chris.  
  
Chris notices there isn't any rings on her fingers and decides to ask her something, "Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?"  
  
"I'd be delighted to." Shirley smiles at him and looks into his hazel eyes.  
  
Chris puts his arm around her, and Shirley doesn't complain. Chris moves his face closer to Shirley's and gently kisses her. Shirley kisses back…  
  
Back in the other bedroom…  
  
"We can't stay here forever though. Chris can't get too attached to her," says Lu, worried about what will happen when they have to leave the house including Shirley.  
  
"We could always leave him here," suggests Vin, with a mischievous grin.   
  
"He'd be really awkward to travel back with if he's heart-broken," agrees Buck.  
  
"We can't just leave him here!" says Lu, astonished at the suggestion.  
  
"He doesn' usually fall fer people we meet," says Vin, trying to remember if Chris ever has done.  
  
"We don't usually get to stay in heaven though," says JD, thinking about where they have had to stay in the past.   
  
"What makes you think that this is 'heaven'?" asks Josiah, not believing that any place they stay is like heaven.   
  
"Everyone's so nice here, and we have comfortable beds," explains JD, who already tried out his bed.  
  
"It's not heaven just because we've been sleeping rough and now we have more luxurious surroundings, brother," replies Josiah.  
  
"Nowhere is completely heavenly," says Krys.  
  
"I have to admit that this establishment is certainly more accommodating than that prehistoric prison cell," chimes in Ezra.   
  
"There's nice and there's too nice!" says Krys, not liking things to be too luxurious.  
  
Buck leaves the room, suddenly deciding there's something else he should be doing right now.  
  
"Where's he goin'?" asks Vin, puzzled.  
  
"I think he's going to see Dotty," answers JD, using the affectionate nickname he's given the woman.   
  
Buck knocks on Dorothy's bedroom door, as he knows she is in there.  
  
"Who is it?" asks Dorothy, while she's putting on her nightdress. She's planning to go to bed soon, as she's feeling tired.  
  
"It's me, Bucklin."  
  
"Go to bed Buck, you must be tired."   
  
"I came to see you," says Buck, in a seductive voice.  
  
"I know you did. I'm a married woman now, Bucklin," says Dorothy, sounding slightly regretful about her status.  
  
"But he's away at the moment," argues Buck.  
  
"That doesn't make any difference. Please go away," says Dorothy.   
  
To be continued...


	8. Part 7: Bucklin

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
Part 7: Bucklin  
  
Buck walked back to his room, downhearted at Dorothy's rejection. The others had all gone to bed now.  
  
Morning soon came and Chris was the first to get up, full of the joys of spring. He went downstairs to where Shirley and Dorothy were at the kitchen table eating breakfast.  
  
As it was a Saturday, the children were outside in the large garden playing on the swings and slide. They could be seen out the window, happily playing.  
  
Shirley put a cup of coffee down on the table for him and Chris tried it.  
  
"How did you know exactly how I like it?" the blonde man asked.   
  
"Lucky guess!" exclaimed Shirley, pleased that she had got it right.  
  
Shirley went upstairs to make the beds, leaving Chris and Dorothy having breakfast.  
  
"Did you sleep well?" asked Dorothy.  
  
"Very well - my bed was so comfortable!" answered Chris happily.  
  
"I'm glad you like it. My husband's fixed it up real nice over the time we've been living here."  
  
"He's done a great job, you're very lucky to have such a talented man."  
  
"Yes, glad I didn' marry Buck," joked Dorothy, realising too late what she has said, thinking it may have been a bit unkind.  
  
Buck, who's not far from the kitchen, hears this remark, which obviously wasn't meant to be heard by him. He goes back upstairs and lies on his bed on his front so his face is buried into his pillow.  
  
JD comes in, knowing something's wrong and asks, "What's wrong, Buck?"  
  
Buck replies sarcastically, "Bucklin can take rejection, always other fish in the sea for him. Women don't ever hurt Bucklin."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She probably never really loved me at all," replies Buck.  
  
"Pull yerself together."  
  
Back downstairs…  
  
Chris says to Dorothy, "Don't be so hard on Buck, he's a good guy."  
  
"He's tryin' to get roun' me while my husband's not here, he shoul' know better," replies Dorothy.  
  
"Do you mean he tried to get close to you last night?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'll talk to him; he knows he shouldn' do that with a married woman," says Chris. "Is Shirley seeing anyone at the moment?"  
  
"You like her don't you? You're in luck; she's been single for a few months. Poor girl - she really wants someone in her life," hints Dorothy.  
  
"We're only here for a while," reminds Chris.  
  
"That wouldn't stop you keeping in touch with her afterwards would it? Somethin' could still come of it, if you both wanted it to," says Dorothy.  
  
Chris looks distant for a moment, thinking of him and Shirley in a relationship, then he says, "Thanks. Could you try and humour Bucklin a bit? I don't want him gettin' upset, 'cause he'll be awkward to travel with if he's like that."  
  
Dorothy replies, "Okay."  
  
The other guys come down and eat their breakfast really fast. They all have sausages, bacon, eggs and beans. Chris frowns at the group except for Nathan, eating really fast.  
  
Nathan looks at the men eating their food fast and says, "Don't complain to me when you get indigestion!"  
  
JD changes the subject to explain why Buck's not with them, "Buck's not feelin' too good so he's stayin' in bed fer a while."  
  
Dorothy makes a cup of coffee, puts it on a tray and takes it out of the room intending to go and check on Buck.  
  
"What are we doing today?" asks Josiah, finishing his mouthful first.  
  
Chris looks at him for a moment then says, "There's a big ranch near here. How 'bout we get some horses and go ridin'?"  
  
Josiah frowns at him and replies, "I don't feel like riding today."  
  
Chris looks unhappy as he really wanted to go riding.  
  
Vin sees Chris looking unhappy and says. "How 'bout we split up. Some could do ridin', some do somethin' else."  
  
"I don' like ridin' much," says Nathan.  
  
"I'll go ridin' I wanna do some jumpin' over things," says JD, jumping up from his chair and miming riding a horse much to everyone's amusement.  
  
"JUST ridin', JD, no fancy jumpin'," says Chris sternly.  
  
"Shoot!" says JD, looking disappointed.  
  
Krys looks at Vin and asks, "I've never ridden before. Can someone teach me?"  
  
Vin realises she wants him to teach her and says, "I'll teach ya, how 'bout you, Lucy?"  
  
"Please, it's Lu. I don't fancy riding."  
  
"We're gonna go do some target practice somewhere," says Nathan, having conferred on this with Josiah.  
  
"I'll have a go at that," says Lu.  
  
"Ezra, you haven't said what you want to do?" Chris says.  
  
"I don't wish to participate in either activity. I would prefer to sunbathe in the glorious sunshine," says Ezra, feeling quite lazy today.  
  
"Ez, we're not splittin' three ways," says Chris sternly.  
  
"Mistah Wilmington hasn't voiced his opinion in the matter yet."  
  
"He'll do one thing or the other."  
  
Upstairs…  
  
Dorothy knocks on Buck's door and says, "Bucklin, I bought you some coffee."  
  
"Go away!" comes the reply from the room.  
  
Dorothy opens Buck's door and goes in. She puts the tray down on his bedside cupboard and sits on the edge of his bed.  
  
"Buck I don't hate ya - I'm still fond of you a bit," says Dorothy.  
  
"You're glad you didn' marry me."  
  
"You wouldn't have fixed this place up so well, Bucklin."  
  
"I bet there were other reasons as well," says Buck angrily.  
  
"You misunderstood. It was only for that reason I said what I did. There have been times I regretted not marryin' you!" says Dorothy.  
  
"Why did you say 'No' then?"  
  
"'cause I thought you weren't right to be my husband."  
  
"Perhaps you was right, but you really made me mad when you said 'no'. I was expectin' you to say yes."  
  
"I'm glad you came back to visit though," smiles Dorothy.  
  
Buck looks into her eyes and asks gently, "Could I have a kiss for old times' sake?"  
  
Dorothy leans towards him and they kiss. Dorothy pulls away after about 40 seconds feeling guilty.  
  
"Happy now?" she asks him.  
  
"I feel much better. Where're the others?" asks the man.  
  
"I left them in the kitchen," says Dorothy. "I'd love to hear about your adventures and how you ended up here. You said you'd got a flight back to Tennessee from somewhere."  
  
Buck starts telling her the story from the beginning.  
  
Downstairs…  
  
"I don't think Buck's comin' down today," says JD.  
  
Chris thinks for a moment, concerned for Buck then says, "Go up and see if Dorothy's talkin' to him."  
  
JD goes upstairs to find out.  
  
"I think Buck would rather go target shooting than horse ridin'," says Nathan.  
  
"I hope you're proved wrong," replies Vin, wanting Buck to go horseriding with him, Chris, JD and Krys.  
  
"At least there's no snakes around here," says Nathan, relieved that there's no risk of anyone suffering from snakebites.  
  
Chris looks at him, remembering the snake in his tent and says sternly, "No snake talk please."  
  
"I wonder what Mistah Tannah is scared of," says Ezra, thinking they should get revenge for the joke Vin played on Chris.  
  
"I ain't scared of nothin'," says Vin.  
  
Nathan decides to embarrass Vin, "He's scared of the rabbits."  
  
"That's not true," states Vin.  
  
"You run a mile when you see a wild one," argues Nathan.  
  
Buck and Dorothy leave the bedroom after Buck told her briefly about their adventures, he left off so he could tell her some more that night as an excuse to be in her room with her. They leave his bedroom and bump into JD, who couldn't find which bedroom they were in. They all go downstairs.  
  
"Buck, you wanna go horseridin' or do target practice?" asks JD as they walk down the stairs.  
  
"Are there any other choices?" They reach the rest of their group as Buck asks this.  
  
"No, Buck. I want to know where everyone is, so you do one thing or the other," says Chris sternly.  
  
"Can't I stay here with Dorothy?"  
  
"Aren't I showing them around?" asks Shirley, wondering why the plans have suddenly changed.  
  
"You can show them around later," says Dorothy.  
  
"Are you coming with me horse-riding, Dorothy?" asks Buck.  
  
"I'm taking the kids shopping."  
  
"Can I go shopping with Dorothy and the kids?" asks Buck.  
  
"Don' show us up though," says Billy, who has just come into the house with his brother and sister.  
  
"We're well respected aroun' town," says Jane, sounding very grown up.  
  
"I wouldn't show you up," says Buck.  
  
"Okay Buck, you can help them with their shopping. Just behave yerself," orders Chris.  
  
Buck goes with the kids to get ready.  
  
Chris, JD, Vin and Krys head out in their borrowed truck to go horse-riding while Ezra, Nate, Josiah and Lu start walking to do target practice at a shooting range nearby.  
  
To be continued…


	9. Part 8: Saturday Morning

WARNINGS: The only swearword used in this part is 'damn'. There are a few times sex is alluded to, but there are no graphic descriptions at all. Dorothy, Jane, Freddy, Billy and Shirley (as well as Krys and Lu) are original characters created by me.   
  
Part 8: Saturday Morning

Josiah, Ezra, Nathan, and Lu find where Dorothy said the local shooting range was and hire some rifles. They load their guns and head for the target area, which is out in the open in a specially designated field. Ezra has agreed to teach Lu how to shoot with a rifle.  
  
"Okay watch this," Nathan says, as he shoots at the target and hits it dead in the middle.  
  
Josiah chuckles and says, "Nice one, Pity you're so close to the target."  
  
They laugh at Nathan's cheating.  
  
Meanwhile, at a ranch not far away…  
  
Chris and Vin are riding side by side talking, at the huge ranch. Krys is riding behind Vin on his horse, as she's never rode before. JD is riding far behind, as his horse is slow.  
  
Chris asks Vin, "How long d'you reckon we should stay here in Memphis, considerin' we've still got several days vacation left?" Chris had finally worked out what day of the week it was.  
  
Vin sighs and replies, "I wish we could stay forever - everyone is so nice."  
  
"We haven't even been here a whole day. You might get bored soon."  
  
Krys shouts to JD who's lagging behind them, "What's keepin' you?"  
  
JD shouts back, "I think I'm gettin' low on gas."  
  
Krys and Vin laugh at the joke JD just made.  
  
Vin says, "I'm gonna go and help JD. His horse is trailin' far behind."  
  
"Okay, Blackie and me will wait here for you," answers Chris.  
  
Vin and Krys ride back to JD.  
  
"Get off ya horse, let me try that one and see if'n I can make it go faster," says Vin.  
  
Vin and Krys get off their horse. JD dismounts off his slightly smaller one. Vin gets onto JD's horse and kicks it to make it go. It moves very slowly. He kicks it a bit harder but it still stays slow, so Vin dismounts.  
  
"I don't think she's very well. You take my horse an' me an' Krys will take her back and let them know we think she's unwell. Then we'll bring another one back fer ya."  
  
"Okay, I'll join Chris and we'll wait for you guys," says JD, giving the horse a sympathetic stroke, hoping there's nothing seriously wrong with her.  
  
Meanwhile, Chris has got off his horse and is throwing stones into the river nearby, seeing how far he can make them skip across the surface.  
  
Back at the shooting range…  
  
The shooting group are having fun shooting at the targets with their rifles. Nathan is failing miserably to even hit the targets.  
  
"Are you having difficulties, Mistah Jackson?" asks Ezra.  
  
"It's not my fault - the targets keep movin'," complains Nathan.  
  
"Targets don't move on their own," says Lu.  
  
"Nathan, why don't you try another rifle?" suggests Josiah.  
  
"All the rifles are the same, I don't think changing Mistah Jackson's weapon would be to his advantage," says Ezra.  
  
"Maybe this rifle's unlucky," thinks Nathan out loud.  
  
"Yeah, maybe it's got a curse on it," suggests Josiah jokingly.  
  
"Maybe Mistah Jackson, you are the one with the curse," suggests Ezra.  
  
"Let's head back, it's nearly lunch-time," says Josiah, coming to Nathan's rescue.  
  
"No-one has lunch dead on 12!" exclaims Lu, after looking at her watch to check the time.  
  
"They do if they are famished and don't wish to die of starvation, Miss Travis," replies Ezra.  
  
They head back to Dorothy's house.  
  
Back at the ranch…  
  
Vin and Krys have finally got back to Chris and JD, who are sitting on the grass talking. They've replaced JD's horse with a much faster, bigger one.  
  
"I think we should stay here tomorra then head back the mornin' after," suggests Vin.  
  
"I decide when we leave, Vin. I say we should stay another day then head back the morning after," says Chris, pretending Vin hadn't spoken first.  
  
"I jest said that."  
  
Chris starts humming, ignoring Vin. Vin looks at Krys for her to defend him, but Krys just shrugs.  
  
"Are you two still engaged?" asks JD.  
  
"Of course we are, JD. We gotta set a date for the weddin'," answers Vin.  
  
"Already??" exclaims Chris shocked.  
  
"Can't stay engaged ferever," explains Vin.  
  
Quickly changing the subject, Chris says, "It's nearly lunch-time. We better get back to have lunch."  
  
"I can't wait to see what Dorothy's cook has made - that dinner last night was the best I ever had," says JD, licking his lips in anticipation.  
  
"You sayin' you don't like my food?" questions Chris.  
  
"You should take some lessons from Dorothy's cook," says Vin.  
  
Chris starts riding back, annoyed at the remark Vin just made. Krys has learnt to ride well very quickly, so rides JD's horse while JD rides with Vin, much to JD's annoyance.  
  
"Quit fidgetin' JD," orders Vin.  
  
"But this is really uncomfortable," moans JD.  
  
"We don' have a mini bus for the moment, JD," says Vin.  
  
Chris farther ahead mutters, "I miss that bus."  
  
Vin gains on Chris, "Hey, pard. Give me all your money or you'll be sorry."  
  
"Quit messin', Junior."  
  
"Let's play Cowboys an' Indians - I'll be the Indian chief," announces Vin.  
  
"We're not kids, Vin," answers Chris.  
  
"You're no fun. We'll play without you."  
  
Vin rides to Krys and tells her what they'll do.  
  
"I thought we were going for lunch," she says to him.  
  
"We'll do that first, then we'll all play it. It'll be fun," Vin says back to her.  
  
"We ain't got no costumes or props though," says JD from behind Vin.  
  
"We have our imaginations, JD - better than any props," says Vin.  
  
"I'll be Billy the Kid," says JD.  
  
"That suits you, Kid," says Vin with a smile.  
  
"Not because you think I'm still a kid!" says JD.  
  
"You are still a kid."  
  
"I didn't suggest playing cowboys and Indians," argues JD.  
  
"Guess I'm a big kid," admits Vin.   
  
Krys rides over, "I don't wanna be an Indian, but I wanna be on your side, Vin."  
  
"We could always have good and bad cowboys instead," suggests Vin.  
  
"Like in Billy the Kid," says JD.  
  
"Who's gonna be on the bad side?" asks Krys.  
  
JD and Vin simultaneously answer, "Chris!"  
  
Krys says, "I'll be the Sheriff then."  
  
"Damn, I wanna be the sheriff," says JD.  
  
Chris comes over, "Can you stop saying 'damn', JD?"  
  
JD shrugs and says, "No, I can't."  
  
"It don't sound nice."  
  
"When have you ever been against swearing?" asks Vin.  
  
"You're a bad influence on Krys - she's younger than you," explains Chris.  
  
"Really? That means I'm not the youngest anymore," says JD with a smile.  
  
Chris glares at him and says, "You're still the youngest member of ATF team 7."  
  
"Da ... oh well."  
  
While the two groups were riding and shooting, Buck, Dorothy and the kids went shopping…  
  
Dorothy, Buck and the kids drove to town and went into the supermarket. The kids were picking up things and asking their mom if they could have them. She always said no. Buck put a few of the things in his basket, secretly for the kids.   
  
They go to the toy section and Buck looks at all the Legos, especially the Star Wars things. He puts several boxes in his basket, although he knows he can't afford them. He was hoping Dorothy might buy them for him, as she's so rich. He runs up to Dorothy. "Look at all this great Star Wars Lego I've found," Buck tells her.  
  
"You're into Star Wars and Lego, Bucklin? Aren't you a bit old for that?" asks Dorothy, surprised.  
  
"I'm into adult things as well, darlin'," says Buck, smiling flirtatiously at her.  
  
"Not in front of the kids, Bucklin."  
  
"Of course not."  
  
"You have some sense then," says Dorothy, not realising the real meaning of his statement.  
  
"We'd do it with the bedroom door locked," replies Buck cheekily.  
  
Dorothy tuts at him, "Bucklin, I'm a married woman."  
  
"So?" asks Buck, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"Stay in your own bedroom," replies Dorothy, frowning at him.  
  
"Only if you buy me some of these Legos," blackmails Buck.  
  
"If you promise to leave me alone I will," replies Dorothy.  
  
"I promise."  
  
They get to the counter and Dorothy pays for the food and Legos. Buck pays for the sweets pretending they are for him. Dorothy frowns at him.   
  
They go into the pet shop just to look at the animals there.  
  
"These animals are so cute," says Buck, admiring some puppies.  
  
"That brown puppy reminds me of you when I first knew you," says Dorothy.  
  
"I've never been THAT cute."  
  
Billy runs up to them, "Can we get a hamster?"  
  
Dorothy says without hesitation, "No, dear," then looking at her watch says, "look at the time, I expect your friends will be gettin' hungry. We better get the food back for cook."  
  
Jane asks Buck, "Can we play with your Legos when we get home, Buck?"  
  
"Yes, as long as you are very careful with them," answers Buck, with a smile.  
  
Freddy nods his head and says, "We will be."  
  
They get back home to find everyone sitting in the front room watching Scooby Doo on the widescreen TV.  
  
Dorothy looks at the group and exclaims, "Don't tell me y'all like Scooby Doo?"  
  
Lu answers her, "No, Chris doesn't - he's gone upstairs for a lie down."  
  
"Last time we left him alone he got drunk," remembers Buck.  
  
"There's no liquor in the house," says Dorothy.  
  
"The rest of us like Scooby Doo though," says JD, with his eyes still on the screen.  
  
"It's a classic episode!" announces Krys excitedly.  
  
Billy, Jane and Freddy rush upstairs with Buck's Star Wars Legos - they've seen that Scooby episode a lot of times already.  
  
"We're having lunch soon, wash your hands, kids," Dorothy calls after them.  
  
Billy shouts back, "Yes, Mom."  
  
Buck asks JD, "How did the horseridin' go?"  
  
JD replies, "I got a slow horse - went like a snail in slow motion. Vin had to ride it back to the ranch and get a better one. Thought it might be sick, but turns out it's always been that slow"   
  
"I'll bet Vin saw that one, knew it would be slow, and made sure that you got it," says Buck with a smile.  
  
"Looked fine ta me, it was a better size for JD anyway," says Vin, defending himself.  
  
"You callin' me short?" asks JD, irritation showing in his voice.  
  
"I thought you didn't like heights much, that's all."  
  
"You don't like bunnies much either."  
  
Chris comes down; "Good, you're back. Did you get anythin' good at the shops?"  
  
"I got some Star Wars Lego - the kids are playin' with it," answers Buck.  
  
"Great."  
  
"Great, Chris?" exclaims Vin, looking at Chris with a worried expression on his face.  
  
"Your sanity is becoming doubtful lately, Mistah Larabee," comments Ezra.  
  
"I feel great!" says Chris, sounding a bit like JD.  
  
"Did ya meet Shirley upstairs, Chris?" asks Nathan.  
  
"No, course not, I haven't been anywhere near her since breakfast."  
  
"Did you sleep with her last night?" asks Buck, suspiciously.  
  
"NO!" comes the not very convincing answer from Chris.  
  
"Why are you sweatin'?" asks Nathan.  
  
Chris replies, wiping his face, "It's too damn hot in here."  
  
"You told me not to say that word," complains JD.  
  
"You were abusin' it."  
  
"Let's leave Chris alone. I got a great idea for after lunch," says Vin, coming to Chris's rescue.  
  
"Goin' home?" says JD, beginning to get bored and missing Casey a lot.  
  
"No," answers Vin.  
  
"We're gonna play act at cowboys," says Krys, in a very excited tone.  
  
"Okay," says Buck, throwing a questioning look toward Vin and Krys.  
  
"Some of us have to be bad cowboys though," explains Vin.  
  
"Mister Larabee would make an excellent villainous cowboy!" says Ezra, recalling the resemblance between Chris and Johnny Ringo in the film Tombstone.  
  
"I'M NOT PLAYING NO KIDS' GAMES," shouts Chris, annoyed.  
  
Billy and his siblings come downstairs after having washed their hands.  
  
"Uncle Chris, do you want to see Buck's legos?" asks Jane, grabbing his hand.  
  
Chris replies, "Sure, I'd love to."  
  
He goes upstairs with the kids.  
  
Lu looks at the rest of the men and asks, "What's got into Chris?"  
  
Josiah grins and replies, "I don't think that's anatomically correct."  
  
"He stayed in Shirley's room last night," explains Buck, with a wide grin on his face.  
  
"Yes, I had the misfortune of hearing the two miscreants sleeping very noisily," grins Ezra.  
  
"Do you think he'll make her pregnant?" asks Nathan concerned.  
  
"Vin's getting married, Chris is havin' babies, whatever next?" asks JD.  
  
"Us being bridesmaids at Chris and Shirley's weddin'," laughs Josiah.  
  
"Jane would make a lovely bridesmaid," says Shirley, rejoining them from the kitchen.  
  
"So would Casey," suggests JD.  
  
Chris comes downstairs and everyone goes silent, trying to hide that they were talking about Chris.  
  
"I know y'all were talking about me," says Chris.  
  
"No, we weren't," argues Vin.  
  
"Hey, don't lie to me," says Chris, lightly hitting Vin's arm.  
  
"Are you gonna ask Shirley out?" asks Vin.  
  
"That's not your concern."  
  
Shirley comes in; "Lunch is ready. You'd better hurry up before the ants get it."  
  
Nathan looks startled and says, "You have ants in your house?"  
  
Shirley explains, "No, we're eating in the garden as it's such a nice day."  
  
Nathan looks relieved that she doesn't have ants in her house. JD stifles a giggle.  
  
They go outside and their lunch is set out on a picnic blanket. There are various types of sandwiches, chocolate bars, fruitcakes and other things. They all eat hungrily.   
  
JD talks between mouthfuls, "I'm sure they're tryin' to make us fat with all this food."  
  
Dorothy answers him; "Nonsense, we like feeding our guests properly."  
  
"Do you get many guests?" Chris asks her.  
  
"My husband often has friends and business partners over. We don't get many of my friends here."  
  
"You're a great hostess - I'm sure we'll visit again in the future," compliments Buck.  
  
"It's like havin' a big family with you guys and gals. You're welcome to visit again," says Dorothy, smiling at her new friends.  
  
To be continued… 


	10. Part 9: Cowboys

Mag 7 Jungle Adventure Part 9: Cowboys

The group finish lunch after about half an hour and decide to all go horse-riding at the ranch down the road. Dorothy and Shirley love horse-riding and go along after their cook says she will look after the children while they're gone.  
  
They get to the large ranch not far from the house and wonder if they have enough horses for all of them. Lu can't ride very well so agrees to share a horse with JD. Vin still wants to play cowboys as he's still a big kid at heart.  
  
He whispers to Buck; "Hey, we're playin' at cowboys. Find some ropes so we can tie people up."  
  
Buck grins at him and laughs; "We're not tying anyone up, Junior - that's crazy!"  
  
Vin thinks for a moment then says, "How about we get some water pistols as it's such a hot day, and pretend they're guns?"  
  
Buck nods in agreement with this idea then smiles; "We've even got some cowgirls for our game!"  
  
Vin grins and the two men wait until they are each assigned to a horse. When they are both seated on horses, they ride away from the rest of the group.  
  
"I bet Dorothy's kids have water pistols," says Buck, remembering their idea for their cowboys' guns.  
  
"I'll look after your horse while you go back and get them. We only need some for us," says Vin, thinking about the look on Chris's face when Vin 'shoots' him.  
  
Buck dismounts from his horse and runs back out of the ranch and down the road back to the house.  
  
The others are riding when Chris looks around and notices two of their number are missing; "Where's Vin and Buck gone to?" he asks. He's looking at JD as he says this.  
  
JD answers, agitated that Chris thinks he would know, "How should I know? I wasn't watching them!"  
  
"Perhaps they're gonna play a trick on us," suggests Nathan, remembering the tricks the two men have played on the others in the past.  
  
"I strongly disagree with you, Mistah Jackson. We outnumber them easily so they would be asking for trouble if they attempted any kind of mischief," said Ezra, with a slight grin on his face.  
  
"Okay, everyone be careful - maybe they're up to mischief," said Chris, feeling uneasy at the thought of what two men like Buck and Vin could do to them on this ranch.  
  
Dorothy decides to change the subject upon sensing that everyone seems tense now, so she comments, "This is such fun, myself and my husband often come here riding in the summer."  
  
Suddenly, Vin appears with a worried expression on his face. He is holding the reins of Buck's horse, which moves alongside Vin's.  
  
Chris suddenly gets a bad feeling in his stomach upon noticing the expression on his sharpshooter's face. "Where's Buck?"  
  
Vin's expression doesn't change as he says, "I don't know - he's run off somewhere."  
  
"Why did you two separate from us, Vin?"  
  
"We jus' wanted t' explore," says Vin innocently.  
  
"When did Buck get off his horse?" asks Chris, the anxiety evident in his tone.  
  
"I don't know, he was there a few minutes ago," answers Vin, absent-mindedly.  
  
Chris glares at Vin; "I can't even trust you to look after Bucklin."  
  
"He's not a kid you know - he can look after himself," says Vin, thinking that this plan is going very badly so far. "If you really want, I'll go and look for him," suggests Vin.  
  
Chris nods, then says "I'll come with you."  
  
Vin nods at him and starts riding away from the group. The two men ride away calling for Buck.  
  
Buck creeps up behind Dorothy without anyone seeing him. He taps her on the shoulder and she turns around and jumps slightly, startled. He puts his finger to his lips.  
  
"Where have you been?" whispers Dorothy.  
  
"I found some real pretty wild flowers. Come with me and I'll show you," invites Buck.  
  
Buck leads Dorothy away without anyone else seeing them, as they are all chatting.  
  
"What are we supposed to do now?" asks Nathan.  
  
"I suggest we evaluate our surroundings," says Ezra.  
  
"Do you mean explore?" asks JD.  
  
The ranch is a huge place with very natural surroundings for people to explore while they ride around.  
  
Ezra nods at him.  
  
Meanwhile..  
  
Vin has led Chris to a small stream that flows through the ranch. There are even some fish swimming about in it. Vin tells him he saw a rainbow coloured fish and Chris dismounts his horse to get a closer look. Vin gets Chris to look in the stream then pushes him in.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" asks Chris, very angry and wet.  
  
Vin laughs evily and says, "You're the bad guy and you deserved it."  
  
Chris is all wet and not amused but decides that two can play that game. He looks innocently at Vin; "Help me out?"  
  
Vin holds out his hand and Chris grabs it. He pulls him into the water and starts laughing loudly. Vin soon joins in, knowing that Chris is enjoying himself and that Chris can give as good as he gets.  
  
Meanwhile, Buck has lead Dorothy into some trees and she's dismounted from her horse to look at some wild flowers growing there. Buck takes out a water pistol, walks over to Dorothy and points it at her. She looks up upon hearing him approach her and sees straight away what he's pointing at her.  
  
"Bucklin?" she says anxiously.  
  
"I got a water pistol, you haven't," teases Buck.  
  
"What are you doing with Billy's water pistol?" she asks him.  
  
Buck shoots her and water appears on her white T-shirt.   
  
"He-he, I can see through your T-shirt now," says Buck with a big grin on his face.  
  
Dorothy puts her hands over her T-shirt embarrassed. Buck moves towards her, still pointing the pistol at her.  
  
"You're my prisoner now." He takes out a rope.  
  
"Bucklin?" asks Dorothy, certain that he's gone mad.  
  
He ties her to a tree, laughing madly. He kisses her.  
  
"Bucklin? Have you gone mad?"  
  
"I'm just playin'," he tells her.  
  
JD comes along, interrupting Buck's plan, which Dorothy is starting to enjoy as well. "I'm the sheriff. I'm here to arrest you for all your crimes, Bad Buck!"  
  
"You can't get me, Sheriff," says Buck, pointing his 'gun' at JD.  
  
JD dismounts and runs bravely towards Buck planning to subdue him. Buck shoots him with water.  
  
"Do I look like I need a bath?" asks JD, jokingly.  
  
"You ain't takin' me alive," says Buck.  
  
Ezra and Josiah ride along.  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Wilmington," says Ezra perfectly in character, due to being an undercover agent.  
  
Josiah unties Dorothy, with a grin on his face as he notices her wet T-shirt. She frowns at him and he moves away from her feeling guilty.  
  
"I'm not an outlaw," says Buck.   
  
"If you're not, then who is?" asks Ezra, pretending to be worried that an outlaw is still at large.  
  
To be continued.. 


	11. Part 10: Nearly Nighttime

Spot the TV show name in this which one of the Mag. 7 actors stars in! Added while I was editing.  
  
Mag 7 Jungle Adventure Part 10: Nearly Night-time

Chris and Vin are now soaking wet from their fooling about in the stream. Shirley comes riding along and Chris imagines her as a beautiful princess, then goes to help her dismount, tying the horse's reins to a nearby tree.  
  
Shirley looks at Chris and frowns; "You're all wet!"  
  
Chris answers her, "You can blame Vin for that. You look beautiful!"  
  
Shirley blushes.  
  
Vin speaks up, "I wonder where the others are?"  
  
Chris answers him with a slight grin, "I think they're playin' at cowboys."  
  
"I wonder if they found Buck?"  
  
"Or if he found them?" says Chris, his smile growing.  
  
"Are we in the game as well?" asks Shirley, enthusiastically.  
  
"We're not kids!" states Chris, feeling too old for playing games.  
  
"Speak for yourself, I wanna be a kid with them," says Shirley, surprising the two men.  
  
Ezra and Nathan come riding along. Ezra looks at them and asks, "Is one of you two the miscreant outlaw who's wanted for a large bounty?"  
  
Vin and Chris look at each other surprised by Ezra's question and that he would be part of this game.  
  
Buck and the rest of their group come along and Buck points to Chris; "That's him - the one they call The Bad Element!"  
  
The blonde looks at Buck and answers almost shouting, "I'M NOT AN OUTLAW. I'm a good guy."  
  
Buck shoots water at Chris, with an evil grin on his face. Shirley gets a Super Soaker out of her bag and shoots Buck for revenge, surprising the man by being prepared for this. Dorothy shoots at Shirley with the water pistol that she's suddenly got.  
  
Nathan looks at the mayhem erupting, states, "This is ridiculous!" and tries to stay out of the way. Ezra not having a water pistol, picks and throws daisies at Nathan instead, laughing as they hit the man. Krys laughs and Ezra throws daisies at her as well.  
  
Lu and Josiah stay out of the way preferring to stay dry.  
  
"This isn't ridiculous, Mistah Jackson. I am enjoying every minute of our merriment," Ezra says to Nathan, grinning.  
  
"You fight like a girl," says Nathan, picking off some of the daisies which have stuck to him, and throwing them back at Ezra.  
  
"At least I don't look like one, Mistah Jackson," says Ezra, now resorting to name-calling.  
  
Their team leader looks around at the wet people and asks, "Have we quite finished now? I'm tired."  
  
They all get back on their horses, take them back to their stables, then walk back to Dorothy's house. It's starting to get dark now.   
  
Chris pulls Shirley aside for a private chat. "You wanna have a date at the house? I'm too tired for going out."  
  
The pretty young woman answers him with a smile; "That would be great. How about we wait until everyone's gone to bed? Then we can sneak downstairs and raid the fridge."  
  
"Won't Dorothy mind if we eat her food?" asks Chris, not wanting to make his host angry.  
  
"I'll buy her some more tomorrow," answers Shirley.  
  
"Okay, sounds like a good plan. Let's keep quiet about us going on a date," says Chris.  
  
Buck is talking to Dorothy in her room, while everyone else is upstairs getting ready for bed, as they are really tired. Buck sits next to Dorothy on the bed. "Did you have fun today?" asks the dark-haired man with a smile.  
  
"Yes, I never had so much fun in all my life," answers Dorothy, smiling at Buck.  
  
Buck looks at her, before saying, "You married the wrong guy, darlin'."  
  
"Course I didn'," she answers, "from what I've heard lately, you'd rather be datin' than settlin' down." Dorothy frowns at the man disapproving of his lifestyle.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. If Miss Right comes along, I might be persuaded to settle down with her," says Buck, ignoring the disapproving frown.  
  
"I'm sure Miss Right will come lookin' for you one day, Bucklin," says Dorothy with a smile hoping that Buck will get the message that he should find a Miss and not a Mrs.  
  
"I don't ever date no Mrs'. I could make an exception for you though, darlin'"  
  
"Don't you darlin' me, Bucklin Wilmington," says Dorothy standing up and throwing him an angry look. She walks swiftly out of the room upset.  
  
Buck leaves the room angry, wishing that Dorothy hadn't married someone else.  
  
Meanwhile, Lu's in her room feeling lonely. Everyone else seems to have forgotten her.   
  
Josiah comes into the room and notices the forlorn girl sitting on the bed. He decides to make his move and cheer her up, "You know I've got a TV in my room? Want to watch TV with me?"  
  
"That would be fun, I don't feel very tired yet," answers Lu, looking up at him and smiling at the large man.  
  
Josiah offers his hand and helps her up, "Follow me then."  
  
She follows him to his room. JD and Ezra are there, chatting loudly.  
  
"We'd like to watch TV," says Josiah, hoping they'll take the hint.  
  
"We were here first," says JD, not taking the hint.  
  
Josiah looks stern at JD, and he and Ezra quickly leave the room.  
  
Ezra and JD storm into Chris's room. Ezra laughs loudly and says, "What's the point of storming in here, if he's not even presently at this location?"  
  
JD answers him, "At least we can't annoy him."  
  
Ezra looks at JD; "That was the whole point of storming in here." The southerner grins mischievously, not feeling the need to keep his feelings inside while he's on vacation.  
  
Chris comes into his room and looks at the two standing around. He raises his eyebrows in question; "Did you two want something?"  
  
Ezra answers him, "I would like a holiday romance one of these days. All of our associates seem to have one except myself and JD."  
  
"You'd make kind of an odd couple," says Chris with a smirk. "Besides, Josiah and Nathan don't have girls either," answers Chris.  
  
JD answers Chris in a low voice, "Josiah's working on that."  
  
"I need to get some sleep. Go back to your own rooms," says Chris, shooing them away with his hands.   
  
They head back to their own bedrooms.  
  
Ezra waits in the hall for Lu to go to her own room, as he is sharing with Josiah and doesn't wish to interrupt anything.  
  
Inside Ezra, Josiah and Nathan's room, Josiah is sitting next to Lu on the bed. He moves to put his arm around her.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asks, startled.  
  
"Nothin'," answers the man, quickly pulling his arm away.  
  
Lu gets up and leaves.  
  
"Come back - I didn't mean any harm," shouts Josiah after her. She doesn't come back.  
  
Josiah turns off the light and falls immediately asleep. Ezra creeps in and goes to bed, shortly followed by Nathan.  
  
Lu goes back to the room she's sharing with Krys.  
  
Krys looks at her and asks, "Where've you been?"  
  
"I was watching TV with Josiah," she answers.  
  
"Yeah, there's somethin' 'bout older men," says Krys, with a smile.  
  
"He's quite nice," says Lu, now feeling bad about storming out on him.  
  
They are all soon asleep except Chris and Shirley who stay chatting quietly in Chris's room unable to sleep.  
  
Later in the night…  
  
Chris and Shirley creep down to the kitchen. Shirley opens a cupboard and takes some crisps and cakes out. Chris gets some beer out, which he finds in the fridge.  
  
Chris has got six cans of beer out because he wants to make Shirley drunk.  
  
Shirley eyes the beer suspiciously, "Why have you got so much beer and where did you get it from?"  
  
Chris smiles at her and replies, "I bought it earlier. We're gonna drink one each and see who gets drunk first. "  
  
They eat the food and drink beer. Chris has had two and Shirley's still on her second one.  
  
"You're behind. How you gonna get drunk first if you drink slower than me?" asks Chris, grinning at her.  
  
Shirley downs the beer fast, then reaches for her third, which she drinks down faster. She's starting to sway a bit.  
  
Chris, who's still sober asks her, "How are you doing?"  
  
Shirley answers groggily, "Fine."  
  
Chris holds another can of beer to her mouth, making sure not to tip it up too much.  
  
"Everything's spinning," answers Shirley.  
  
Chris laughs and helps her to HIS room, but not before he's drunk the last of the beer.  
  
The morning comes and Buck gets up noisily. He sees Vin sleeping across the bedroom and wants to wake him up just for a laugh. He shouts "Breakfast is ready!" really loudly and Vin jumps up.  
  
"What?" asks Vin.  
  
Buck laughs loudly.  
  
"I'm not gettin' up yet," says Vin sleepily.  
  
"I'll give you fifty bucks," says Buck.  
  
JD wakes up then and replies laughing, "One Buck is quite enough!"  
  
Vin laughs at this joke, then sees Buck glaring at him - 'He's almost perfected the Larabee glare!' he thinks to himself.  
  
"That ain't a funny joke, kid," says Buck, taking offence at JD's joke.  
  
Buck and JD get up and race each other for the bathroom. Buck beats JD and goes into the room locking the door behind him. JD stands outside, hopping about. Vin stays in his room.  
  
Josiah comes along and smiles at JD; "Did Buck beat you yet again?"  
  
"Yes," says JD, his face showing his discomfort.  
  
Josiah still has a smile on his face and says, "You should have got up earlier like I did."  
  
"Why did you get up so early? We're meant to be on vacation."  
  
"I just felt wide awake when I woke up," says the older man, who's just made amends with Lu in her room.  
  
Buck comes out of the bathroom and JD rushes in.   
  
Buck and Josiah go downstairs. Dorothy and Shirley are eating breakfast; Shirley stops eating and goes over to Josiah. "Can I ask you something?" the young woman asks. Josiah nods.  
  
Meanwhile, Buck sits down at the kitchen table and Dorothy gets him a bowl of cereal for breakfast in an attempt to apologise for getting upset at him yesterday.  
  
"Thanks," he says to her, giving the woman a big grin and accepting the unspoken apology.  
  
Dorothy smiles back at him.  
  
Shirley asks Josiah quietly; "Do you think Chris would let me come back with you guys and stay at his house with him for a while?"  
  
"You could try asking him," suggests Josiah, thinking that maybe Chris would say yes to her.  
  
Krys comes downstairs looking for Vin, as he's not in his room. "Have you seen Vin?"  
  
"Not since yesterday," remembers Josiah, who hasn't seen Vin yet that day.  
  
"I already tried his room and he's not there," says Krys.  
  
"Bathroom?" suggests Josiah.  
  
"No, he's not there either," says Krys, beginning to grow concerned about Vin.  
  
"A different bedroom?"  
  
"I tried everywhere, he's disappeared from this whole house," says Krys, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Why would he leave?" asks Krys, trying to suppress her tears, worried that either Vin has run away from her or he's in danger.  
  
"Maybe he's planning a surprise for you," suggests Buck, not wanting her to get worried.  
  
"I suppose - just seems odd."  
  
Chris comes downstairs slowly, trying to hide his hangover. "Morning everyone. Where's Vin?" he says in a quiet voice.  
  
"I can't find him anywhere," replies Krys.  
  
"He'll turn up somewhere," says the team leader, wanting desperately to get rid of his hangover ASAP.  
  
Nathan and Ezra come downstairs, having overheard that Vin is missing.  
  
"Aliens got Vin?" suggests Nathan jokily.  
  
"No, of course not," frowns Chris.  
  
The rest of the group come downstairs (except the missing Tanner) and get some cereal to eat. Buck still sitting at the kitchen table sees the cereal box on the table and puts his hands in the box trying to find the free toy.  
  
"BUCK," says Chris.  
  
Buck ignores him.  
  
Chris calls him even louder, "BUCKLIN!" The blonde puts his hand to his head, feeling pain.  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"There's no free toy in that cereal," says Chris.  
  
"Why not?" asks Buck in anger.  
  
"You have to collect the tokens from the boxes and send them off to get anythin'," says Chris, his voice quieter.  
  
Buck takes his hand out and looks at the back of the box. Then he looks at Chris; "Chris? D'you wanna collect tokens for some flowery cereal bowls?"  
  
Chris shakes his head in disbelief, "NO, BUCKLIN!"  
  
Shirley puts a cup of coffee and two aspirins on the table for Chris.  
  
"Somethin' wrong, Chris?" asks Nathan in concern.  
  
Chris gets up after taking the two aspirins with the coffee, ignoring Nathan; "I'm gonna go and find Vin, If I'm not back in thirty minutes come and look for me."  
  
Buck nods, still disappointed that he couldn't get a plastic toy from the cereal before Vin could get it. That would've really annoyed Junior.  
  
Chris goes out the back door wondering where Vin is and hoping his hangover goes soon.  
  
"Do people usually disappear without a trace from your group?" asks Shirley, concerned.  
  
"No, Junior should've told us he was going somewhere," says Buck.  
  
"I hope he's okay," says Krys, close to tears. Ezra moves to her and pulls her into him for a comforting hug. "You have to find him," the girl quietly requests, and Ezra nods.  
  
To be continued...


	12. Part 11: Where is Vin?

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
Terry, Joe and Larry are OMC's. Larry is an original creation but Terry and Joe are named after the Sleep-Over Bandits in the film (and true story), "Bandits." The word "Hell" is used once in this part.  
  
Part 11: Where is Vin?  
  
Terry, Joe and Larry are OMC's. Larry is an original creation but Terry and Joe are named after the Sleep-Over Bandits in the film, "Bandits."  
  
The word "Hell" is used once in this part.  
  
Meanwhile, Vin is tied up to a chair in a house not too far away. There are three men standing in front of him, all pointing guns at him.  
  
"Where is Krys?" asks Terry, the man with short dark-brown hair, looking Vin directly in the eye.  
  
"I don't know," answers Vin, putting on a poker face and trying to convince him.  
  
"Of course you know - you've been staying with her for days," says Joe, the man with short blonde hair, pointing his gun threateningly at Vin.  
  
"We'll let you go if you give me back what is rightfully mine," says Terry. He was going out with Krys before Vin stole her from him.  
  
"What's that?" asks Vin, playing dumb.  
  
"Krys of course. We were very happy together until you came along and ruined it," explains the man raising his voice.  
  
"Tell us where Krys is and as soon as we have her, we'll release you," says the third man of the group, Larry with long blonde hair.  
  
"Krys has something we want," says Krys's ex-boyfriend.  
  
"What could Krys have that you want? She destroyed the Golden Idol," says Vin, thinking this will really upset them.  
  
"That's not what we want," shouts Terry, his finger over the trigger of his gun.  
  
"We're not tellin' you what we want," says Joe, getting impatient.  
  
"We could only tell you if we killed you afterwards," says the brown-haired man, who wants to kill Vin anyway.  
  
Vin closes his eyes, waiting for them to kill him anyway as he wont help them get to Krys.  
  
"Closing your eyes won't make us go away," says Larry.  
  
Meanwhile back at the house, Chris has had an idea about who might have taken Vin, as he's sure Vin wouldn't wander off without saying anything. Chris goes back to the house and he gathers them all into the dining room where they all sit at the huge table.  
  
"I have an idea who might have Vin, but I think it's very unlikely," says Chris, hoping they can get Vin back before he gets hurt.  
  
"Tell us anyway," says Buck, who has no idea where Vin could be or why he's disappeared.  
  
"I was thinking maybe those guys who Krys was friends with have tracked us down somehow and they're holding Vin prisoner," reveals Chris.   
  
"That's crazy, how would they track us down?" asks JD, shocked by Chris's idea.   
  
"If I knew that maybe it wouldn't be such a crazy idea, JD."  
  
"Lets go outside and ask around to see if anyone's seen anything suspicious," says Buck.  
  
"Good idea, if we could show a photo of Vin around someone might've seen him," suggests Chris.  
  
"I have a photo of him on a horse from yesterday," says Josiah, who had secretly been taking photos.  
  
They get their coats on and leave the house. They leave Lu behind to stay with Dorothy and Shirley because Chris doesn't want them getting in danger, but Krys has insisted on going with them to get her fiancee back.  
  
They set out with the photo of Vin. They start knocking on people's doors asking if anyone has seen Vin. Several blocks later, no-one so far has seen Vin.  
  
"Now what?" asks JD in despair.  
  
Back at the house where Vin is, Larry, the man with long blonde hair is looking out the window carefully. "They're gettin' closer to us.. Now they've stopped and are talking," relays the man back to the other men.  
  
"Is Krys with them?" asks Krys's ex.  
  
"Yeah, pretty as ever."  
  
"I only need her for the information she knows. Soon as I've got that, we'll get rid of her."   
  
"What if she won't talk?" asks Joe.  
  
"She will talk if she's got a gun pointed at her head," says Krys's ex-boyfriend with an evil grin.  
  
"How are we gonna get her?"  
  
"Larry, go out there and invite them all in," orders Terry.  
  
"They'll recognise me from before," says Larry.  
  
"Their memories can't be that good."  
  
Larry goes outside and approaches Chris, "Are you looking for someone?"  
  
Chris thinks he has seen him before somewhere. "Yes - JD, show him the photo."  
  
Larry looks at the photo; "I think I saw him earlier. Come inside and I'll try and remember."  
  
Chris, JD and Buck go inside leaving the others outside. They walk into the front room and see Vin tied to a chair.  
  
"Vin?" says Chris, hoping Vin hasn't been hurt or drugged.  
  
"Chris," says Vin, glad to see him.  
  
Joe ties a scarf over Vin's mouth so he can't talk. "We'll give you your man back if you give us Krys," he says.  
  
"That's where we saw you before..." starts Chris, remembering the men from the jungle.  
  
"Cut the reminiscing - we want Krys back," shouts Terry, angry that they've had to follow them for so long.  
  
"We're not givin' you Krys back," says Chris defiantly.  
  
"Prepare to watch your friend die then," says Terry and points his gun towards Vin's head.  
  
"You can't kill Vin."  
  
Joe points a gun at JD while Larry points one gun at Chris and one at Buck.  
  
"With half your group gone, getting back Krys will be an easy task," says Terry and smiles evily.  
  
Chris pulls his gun out fast and points it at Terry; "As soon as you pull that trigger, I'll pull mine."  
  
Outside they have started to get worried.  
  
"Something's going on in there, I can feel it," says Josiah, worriedly.  
  
"Chris can handle it, don't worry," replies Nathan, not feeling as confident as he sounds.  
  
"Do you think Vin's in there?"  
  
"I think Mister Larabee's estimation was very accurate," answers Ezra.  
  
"D'you mean my ex is in there?" asks Krys.  
  
"Things could turn nasty in there," says Josiah.  
  
"Maybe we should call the police," suggests Buck.  
  
"No, don't do that," says Krys, panic in her voice.   
  
"Why not?" asks Nathan raising his eyebrows questioningly at her.  
  
"Okay I'll tell you why, but don't tell anyone else," says Krys, her voice low.  
  
"Please tell us - we're dying of curiosity," requests Ezra.  
  
"They did a bank robbery a couple of weeks ago and I hid the money in a secret place that only I know about. When they lost me they lost the money. I expect they want me back so they can find the money," reveals Krys.  
  
"Why didn' you tell us this earlier?" asks Nathan.  
  
"I don't wanna go to jail," says Krys, fear in her voice.  
  
"You wont - we'll make sure only they go to jail," reassures Josiah.  
  
"You better go back to the house and stay there - we'll sort this out," says Buck, not wanting her to get hurt.  
  
"Please get them both back alive," says Krys, worried for Chris and Vin's safety.  
  
"Course we will," says Buck confidently.  
  
Back inside...  
  
"Our ruse to get you arrested didn' work very well, did it?" says Terry.  
  
"It was you!" exclaims Chris.  
  
"I've got a friend in the police-force in South America. He owed me a favour," explains Larry, sure that it doesn't matter if Vin and Chris know now because he and his friends intend to kill them.  
  
"Give us Krys and no-one gets shot," orders Terry.  
  
"Never," says Chris.  
  
Terry shoots Chris's leg below the knee and Chris goes down screaming in pain.  
  
Vin has managed to untie himself and lurches at Terry, knocking the gun out of his hand. "No-one does that to Chris an' gets away with it."  
  
Chris grabs the gun and aims it at Terry. Vin wrestles with Joe and gets his gun. Soon, the good guys are pointing guns at the three men.  
  
"You're all under arrest for threatening federal agents," states Chris.  
  
Terry turns pale; "You're what?"  
  
"You picked on the wrong guys," replies Vin.  
  
Vin, Chris, Buck and JD get behind the men with their guns pointed at their backs and they go outside. Nathan calls the police and soon the bad guys are being driven away in police vans.  
  
Not long after, back at Dorothy's house...  
  
Chris and Vin ask Krys why the three guys wanted her back so desperately.  
  
"I can't tell you. I don' wanna be put in jail," says Krys.  
  
"No-one's puttin' you in jail," says Chris, trying to reassure the girl.  
  
Krys explains to Vin and Chris why the three men were after her. "Please don't send me to jail," she pleads.  
  
"I don' wanna arrest you, I like you," says Chris, smiling at her sincerely.  
  
"You don' look the type to rob a bank," says Vin, putting an arm around his fiancee.  
  
"I drove the getaway vehicle," admits Krys.  
  
"No-one has to know," says Chris with a smile.  
  
"They might talk," says Krys referring to her three ex-friends.  
  
"We'll protect you if they do, no-one's gonna put you in jail," promises Vin.  
  
"You helped us escape that South American jail, you could work for the FBI with some training if you wanted," offers Chris.  
  
"If I do, does that let me off my previous crimes?" asks Krys, interested.  
  
"Sure, but we'll have to discuss it later - my leg's hurtin' like hell," says Chris.  
  
Nathan looks at Chris's leg and gets the bullet out but not without Chris crying out in pain  
  
Shirley goes to him and holds his hand. Chris squeezes it a bit hard. Shirley lets go quickly.   
  
"We need some painkillers for him," says Nathan, noticing that Shirley let go quickly.  
  
Shirley rushes to a cupboard to get some while Nathan cleans up Chris's wound.  
  
"Look what you got for bein' brave," says Nathan sternly.  
  
"I wasn't being brave, I was doing what I've been trained to," argues Chris.  
  
"We can't go while you're hurt, Chris - we'll have ta stay here a bit longer," says Vin.  
  
Chris tries to hide the small smile on his face.  
  
"Chris, you didn't get shot on purpose did ya?" asks Nathan, sternly.  
  
"No, of course not," answers Chris, failing to sound convincing.  
  
"So that you could stay with Shirley a bit longer," accuses Nathan, who wouldn't approve of such a way to stay longer.  
  
"There's nothin' goin' on between me and Shirley," says Chris, trying to hide his smile.  
  
"Nothing at all?" asks Vin.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"I saw you kissing her," says Josiah.  
  
"How could you see me kissing her?" asks Chris, who was sure he'd done it when no-one was looking.  
  
"Why can't you admit you and Shirley are an item?" says Vin.  
  
"Perhaps she'd admit it if we asked her," suggests Nathan.  
  
Shirley comes back with the tablets.  
  
"Shirley, are you datin' Chris?" enquiries Nathan.  
  
"You should ask Chris that," says Shirley, being awkward.  
  
Vin says without a moment's hesitation, "He said ya are."  
  
Shirley smiles and answers, "I am then."  
  
Chris is annoyed at them tricking her and starts to limp away.  
  
Vin grins; "That injury has slowed you down - you can't get away fast enough now."  
  
To be continued... 


	13. Part 12: Love

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
Some het(love) in this part.  
  
Part 12: Love  
  
It is the afternoon and Chris is sitting in an armchair with his injured leg up on a coffee table. He is chatting to Vin who is sat near him in another arm chair. Nathan and JD are sitting at a table nearby playing chess. Lu is upstairs watching TV with Josiah. Ezra, Buck and Krys are sat on a sofa watching TV in the front room near where Chris is sat.  
  
"I don't get how those guys tracked us here undetected," says Chris, puzzled.  
  
"Maybe they've been following us undetected for a long time - we didn't think they'd follow us so we weren't watching out for them," suggests Vin.  
  
"I'm glad the police have got them now."  
  
"I hope they have enough evidence to keep hold of them otherwise they'll come after us again."  
  
"Maybe we should leave tomorrow in case they do get loose and come after us; I still don't get how they managed to capture you so easily," says Chris.  
  
"I went back ta bed after Buck woke me up too early for my likin'. I heard a noise and I opened my eyes - the window had been forced open from outside. There were masked figures in my room. One of them saw I was awake and very quickly jabbed a needle inta my arm. I lost consciousness and when I woke up I was tied to a chair in that house," explains Vin.  
  
"We didn' hear anything," says Chris.  
  
"This house has very thick walls, no-one could hear small noises outside that room," explains Vin.  
  
"You can share with me tonight - I don't want them coming back and capturing you again," offers Chris.  
  
"I think they know how close me and Krys are. That's why they got me."  
  
"They must've been watching us before."  
  
Krys comes over to Vin and kisses him on the cheek; "I was so worried about you when I couldn' find you this mornin'."  
  
"You musta known these guys would get me back in one piece," says Vin with a grateful smile directed at the guys.  
  
"I wasn't sure. My ex and his cronies have killed people before."  
  
"I don' get why you was dating him."  
  
"'Cause he offered me riches beyond my wildest dreams. I never loved him really," explains Krys.  
  
Dorothy whispers into Buck's ear and he gets up from watching TV. He leaves the room with her. Dorothy and Buck go upstairs.  
  
Vin and Chris look at each other with amused expressions on their faces. Ezra turns off the TV and sits down on the coffee table next to Chris's leg  
  
"How is your leg, Mister Larabee?" asked Ezra, concerned for Chris's well-being.  
  
"It's very painful, Ezra - It's hard to walk," answers Chris.  
  
Jane and Billy come into the room to talk to Chris.  
  
"Did a bad man shoot you in the leg?" asks Jane.  
  
"Yes," answers Chris, nodding.  
  
"Why?" asks Billy.  
  
"Because he's a very bad man," answers Chris, failing to find a better reason.  
  
"Is he gonna go to jail?" asks Jane.  
  
"Hopefully, but for other things."  
  
"What did he do?" asks Billy.  
  
"I think it's time for you two to go to bed - you've asked enough questions for one day," says Shirley, coming into the room and approaching the children.  
  
"Will you read us a story please, Uncle Chris?" asks Jane politely.  
  
"Yes, I will if you help me get there," replies Chris.  
  
Chris takes them up to bed and the kids help him walk.  
  
He knocks on Buck's door.  
  
"Who is it?" asks Buck.  
  
Chris decides against pretending to be Dorothy's husband to upset Buck; "It's me, Chris. I'm putting Dorothy's kids to bed,"  
  
"Just a minute," calls Dorothy.  
  
About three minutes later Dorothy comes out and kisses the children goodnight. Freddy is already asleep in his room, as Dorothy put him to bed when she came upstairs with Buck.  
  
Chris goes into Jane's bedroom where Jane and Billy get into the bed so he can read them a story together.  
  
Meanwhile in Josiah's room, Lu is lying on the bed feeling a bit tired.  
  
Josiah lies down next to her and Lu cuddles up to Josiah feeling a bit cold.  
  
"What's wrong?" asks the man, concerned.  
  
"I feel cold," says Lu.  
  
"Would you like a blanket?"  
  
"Yes, please."  
  
Josiah covers them both with a blanket and they close their eyes with the TV still on. JD comes into the room and sees them sleeping. He smiles, walks out the room and nearly bumps into Buck coming out of their room. "Hey Buck, how's things with Dorothy?" asks JD.  
  
"Great - it's gonna be a shame to leave her," answers Buck, with sadness in his voice.  
  
"She's got a family to look after AND she's married," reminds JD.  
  
Chris finishes reading to the kids and goes into his own room. Vin is moving a camp bed into the room.  
  
"D'you need any help with that?" offers Chris.  
  
"No, thanks - rest your leg," replies Vin.  
  
Chris, who's now lying on the bed says, "We have to leave here tomorrow. It's not safe to stay here unless those men are put away for sure."  
  
"D'you notice 'Siah keeps looking at Lu?" asks Vin.  
  
"She ain't his type."  
  
"Maybe that's the attraction."  
  
"You think he likes her?" asks Chris.  
  
"'Like' is an understatement," replies Vin.  
  
"It's not good for the team if everyone's fallin' in love."  
  
"Mus' be somethin' in the water. 'Side's we're on vacation so we're not the team fer now."  
  
Shirley comes upstairs and knocks on Chris' door  
  
"Who is it?" asks Vin.  
  
"It's Shirley, can I talk to Chris?"  
  
Chris answers the door to her.  
  
"Hi, can you come out here? I want to ask you something," requests Shirley.  
  
Chris goes out of the bedroom closing the door behind him. Vin creeps to the door and listens  
  
"When you leave to go home, can I come and stay with you for a while?" asks Shirley nervously.  
  
"No, you can't - we have to go back to work soon and it's not a good idea," answers Chris, not very gently.  
  
Shirley, trying not to cry answers, "Okay," then rapidly walks away.  
  
Chris walks back to his room not noticing that he's upset her.  
  
Shirley passes Buck on the landing and he hears her crying. "What's wrong?" he asks her.  
  
"Chris won't let me go home with you guys," she answers.  
  
"I thought he'd say yes to that."  
  
"Maybe getting that bullet in his leg changed his mind."  
  
"If it were up to me, I'd let you come back," replies Buck.  
  
"He can go to hell," fumes Shirley loudly and walks away. She goes into her room and slams the door behind her.   
  
Buck goes to Chris's room and knocks on the door; "Chris, it's me, Buck."  
  
Chris opens his door and steps outside limping slightly. "What is it?" he asks the man.  
  
"You told Shirley she can't come back with us?" questions Buck, trying to stay calm.  
  
"It's not practical," replies Chris without feeling in his voice.  
  
"PRACTICAL?? I thought you loved her." Buck is growing angry with Chris for being so insensitive.  
  
"I don't fall in love, Bucklin."   
  
Buck goes back to his room, annoyed.  
  
Everyone eventually goes to sleep, some happy and some not so happy.  
  
To be continued… 


	14. Part 13: Flying Home

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
Thanks to Kas for her encouragement and feedback.

Part 13: Flying home  
  
JD is the first to wake up in the morning. He creeps downstairs (it's only 7 AM) and makes a cup of coffee and gets himself a bowl of cornflakes. He turns the radio on and has breakfast.  
  
Lu comes downstairs wearing pyjamas "Good morning, JD. Do we really have to go home and end our adventures today?"  
  
"Yeah, 'fraid so, even though Chris's leg still hurts him he said we have to go today," says JD.  
  
"I'll have to go back to England soon," mutters Lu sadly.  
  
"You don't have to," says JD, trying to cheer her up.  
  
"I live and work there, JD."  
  
Josiah, Nathan and Ezra come into the room.  
  
"Do you think Chris could hire a plane and fly us home - it's too far to drive," says Josiah thoughtfully.  
  
"I don't think Chris can fly the way he is," guesses Lu.  
  
"He can fly but he can't pilot," says Nathan wanting to get home quickly before anyone else gets hurt.  
  
"Who else can pilot a plane?" asks Lu, looking at the group.  
  
"Buck can - he took me for a fly once," remembers JD.  
  
"Maybe we should drive back in the truck instead," says Lu who feels worried about Buck piloting a plane.  
  
Dorothy comes into the room; "Chris said we could keep that truck - money's a bit tight at the moment and that truck could really come in handy."  
  
JD has been thinking and says, "A commercial flight would be too expensive, we'd be better off hiring a plane and one of us piloting it."  
  
"Bucklin's a good pilot, he took me for a flight once. His landings and takeoffs are so smooth," says Dorothy, remembering the great time they had then.  
  
"Where did you fly to?" asks JD.  
  
"We flew to Canada for the weekend."  
  
"See, he IS a reliable pilot," says JD, now Dorothy has confirmed it.  
  
Meanwhile Buck and Chris are talking in Chris's bedroom.  
  
"I don't believe in long distance relationships, Bucklin," says Chris who's angry that Buck's interfering.  
  
"You really upset her last night  
  
"I thought she'd take it well - anyway, it's nothing to do with you," says Chris combing his hair in front of the mirror.  
  
"She's really mad at you this morning - she told me she's not talking to you."  
  
"Good, I don't like tearful farewells."  
  
"She's not even going to watch you leave," says Buck wishing Chris would stop being so horrible.  
  
"I need someone in my own state, not in Tennessee," says Chris, no emotion in his voice, but hurting inside about upsetting the girl.  
  
"You loved her though - you and her were getting on really well," says Buck who can't understand why Chris is being like this.  
  
"That's why I have to end it now before things go too far," explains Chris who didn't want Shirley's heart to get broken at all.   
  
"How're we gonna get home?"  
  
"You, Bucklin, are going to fly us home - I've got some money to hire a plane for us," says Chris, wondering if it's really such a good idea, but knowing it will be a lot quicker to get home that way.  
  
"Needs to be big enough to fit us all in."  
  
"It will be, I've gotta make a phone call and book us a plane now. I'll see you downstairs in a while."  
  
Buck leaves the room and goes downstairs. Chris picks up the phone in his room and calls the number Dorothy found for him yesterday.

* * *

Downstairs, Dorothy's kids have joined the guys for breakfast. Shirley still isn't out of her room yet. The kids are happily playing with the Star Wars Lego Buck has finally given to them.  
  
"Hey, Chris is lettin' me fly us home," says Buck excitedly.  
  
"That's great, Buck. When do we leave?" says JD.  
  
"Soon as Chris has hired us a plane and we get to the airport," says Buck with a smile - he can't wait to get home although he'll miss Dorothy.  
  
"How far is the airport?" asks Josiah.  
  
"It's only 10 miles away and I'll drive you in the truck," replies Dorothy.  
  
"Where's Shirley this morning?" asks Buck in concern.  
  
Dorothy answers in an upset voice, "She's not very well."  
  
"Did she tell you what happened?"  
  
"Every detail."  
  
"I'm really sorry for Chris's behaviour. He's being very selfish," says Buck annoyed at Chris.  
  
"I'm sure he'll go to hell when he dies," says Dorothy spitefully.   
  
Buck is shocked at what Dorothy has just said.  
  
"I'm very fond of Shirley and I don't like any man breaking her heart," explains Dorothy, noticing Buck's shocked look.  
  
"We're all mad at Chris for it, he won't have an easy time with us on the way home."  
  
Chris comes down and Buck and Dorothy fall silent.  
  
Chris is oblivious to it all; "I got us a plane with plenty of room for everyone."  
  
"Have you reconsidered letting Shirley come with us?" asks Buck, thinking there's still time for Chris to make things up to her.  
  
"No, we're finished," states Chris firmly.  
  
"Don't expect us to agree with your decision."  
  
Chris answers loudly and very angrily, "I HAD ONE DATE WITH HER AND I'M MEAN'T TO INVITE HER BACK WITH US?"  
  
They finish breakfast and pack their things. They get into the truck and Dorothy drives them to the airport. No-one talks during the drive.  
  
When they get there they easily find the plane Chris has hired for them. They all get on board and it is very posh inside. There are several rows of seats with two in each row.  
  
JD gets two seats to himself. Chris sits down hoping Vin will sit next to him but he sits with Krys instead. Lu sits with Josiah. Nathan sits with Ezra. Buck is up front in the pilot's seat. He starts the process for take-off. He uses the intercom to tell everyone to strap themselves in for take-off. Everyone obeys Captain Buck.  
  
Lu looks out the window and sees the plane getting higher and higher. She starts to feel a bit unwell. "I hate take-offs," she mutters.  
  
"Close your eyes and you'll feel better," says Josiah helpfully.  
  
Lu closes her eyes.  
  
Chris is sitting behind JD. "JD, are you mad at me?" asks Chris.  
  
"Don't talk to me Larabee. Everyone's mad at you. You coulda had a great relationship with Shirley and you threw it away," answers JD.  
  
Chris reaches for his bag and gets some Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey out.  
  
Buck speaks over the intercom as if he knows what Chris is doing, "Please be advised drinking alcohol is not allowed on this flight."  
  
Chris shouts at the intercom, "Just 'cause you're the pilot, doesn't make you the rule maker!"  
  
Buck can't hear him though.  
  
"I feel hungry," says Vin, although it hasn't been long since he had breakfast.  
  
"We already had breakfast," says JD, who doesn't feel at all hungry.  
  
"I wish I had some chocolate," says Vin.  
  
"I've got some chocolate," says JD, then he reaches under his seat for his bag and takes out a huge bar of chocolate.  
  
"I think you better share that with everyone, JD," says Vin hoping the chocolate will cheer everyone up.  
  
JD breaks off 2 squares for everyone and passes it around. The only person who doesn't get any is Chris.  
  
Chris secretly drinks some more whiskey.  
  
The plane starts jolting a bit. Chris gets up and goes to see Buck. Chris looks out the front window and sees the sea; "Bucklin, we shouldn't be flying over the sea!"  
  
"That's not the sea, that's a river," replies Buck, sounding very sure of himself.  
  
"BUCKLIN, it's too wide to be a river. I can even see ships that would not be going on a river. How did you manage to fly the wrong way?"  
  
"I'm not flying the wrong way. This is the river we fly over to get home. Those ships are just lost."  
  
"I can see South America, Buck - there's Mexico!" exclaims Chris.  
  
"That's New Mexico," answers Buck, not really believing what he's saying.  
  
"Buckley, it's OLD MEXICO - turn this plane around," orders Chris angrily.  
  
The engine starts spluttering and the plane slows down  
  
"Ain't got enough petrol - we'll have to land," says Buck noncommittally.  
  
Chris sighs, exasperated at his decision to let Buck pilot the plane home.  
  
They approach a jungle similar to the one they were in a few days ago. Buck manages a smooth landing and they get out.  
  
"Damn it, now what are we supposed to do?" asks Vin.  
  
"Buckley, you better start walking and get us some more jet fuel," orders Chris annoyed at Buck, even thinking he did it on purpose.  
  
"How am I meant to find any?" asks Buck.  
  
"I think we should head for the sea and get a ship back," suggests Vin.  
  
"Okay, I guess we don't have much choice," says Chris hoping they can find a cargo ship that could take them back.  
  
They start walking and they haven't gone far when they hear talking. A group of dark-tanned men and women approach them.  
  
A woman in her 30's points at JD excitedly She speaks in a foreign language they can't understand. The woman approaches JD and puts her arms round him. JD looks very puzzled. He tries to get away from her. The woman speaks to him in the foreign language.  
  
"I don't understand," says JD, trying to talk clearly for her.  
  
The woman takes out a comb and combs his hair.  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" shouts the young man at her.  
  
She backs away frightened.  
  
To be continued... 


	15. Part 14: Jake

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.

Part 14: Jake  
  
As none of the guys can understand the woman, they try to use sign language but with no success. They say they are Americans, hoping someone in the group will understand them.  
  
A man steps toward them and asks, "Am-air-e-ken?"  
  
Chris nods and replies, "Yes, American. Do you speak any American?"  
  
"Yes, some. Who are you?" asks the man suspicious of the strangers.  
  
"I'm Chris and these are my friends. Our plane has run out of fuel so we had to land here," says Chris.  
  
"Do you know Jake?" asks the man pointing to JD.  
  
"No, that's JD," says Chris puzzled.  
  
"Jay-dee?"  
  
"He's one of my friends."  
  
"He look like my son, Jake. He missing for week," says the man.  
  
"We could help you look for him," offers Chris.  
  
"Thank you. You very kind."  
  
Chris and the guys walk around in the jungle looking for Jake.  
  
"How much does Jake look like JD?" asks Buck.  
  
Vin answers him, "So much that his own mother mistook JD for him."  
  
"They've been looking for him for days, where could he be?" wonders Chris out loud.  
  
"Maybe he's dead," frets Nathan, hoping the young man isn't though.  
  
"Don't say that," says JD, not wanting to find any dead bodies.  
  
All of a sudden a huge net falls onto them. A group of men appears with face-paint on and the leader looks just like JD. The leader is holding a spear made out a tree branch, which he points menacingly at the group.  
  
"You are trespassing in our jungle. Who are you?" asks the young man.  
  
"We had to land here when our plane ran out of fuel. We were looking for you so we could take you home to your parents," answers Chris.  
  
"They not my parents - real parents dead. I left here as baby and not told truth. They been lying to me."  
  
"They are worried about you."  
  
"They not need worry about me. These men family now," answers Jake angrily.  
  
JD steps forward after having an idea.  
  
"You look like me," says Jake clearly shocked by JD's similarity to him.  
  
"Your mother mistook me for you," answers JD in a friendly voice.  
  
"Do you have parents?"  
  
"Yes, they are back in the States," answers JD thinking they have finally made a break-through with Jake.  
  
"I feel sad. Not have real parents," says Jake lowering his spear so the end of it now rests on the ground.  
  
"What do you know about them?" asks JD, keeping up the friendly conversation.  
  
"My mother was very preety. My parents North Am-air-e-ken also."  
  
"Perhaps you should come back to North America for a while to find them," suggests Chris.  
  
"Not allowed," replies Jake shaking his head sadly.  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"All fingers, toes and other hand," says Jake not knowing how to say the number in English. "I born-day last week."  
  
JD steps backwards shocked.  
  
"What wrong?"  
  
"My birthday was last week as well and I'm 25 now as well."  
  
"Big co-in-cid-ens!" says Jake not believing JD.  
  
"You think it's just a coincidence?" asks JD.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are you stupid? It's more than just a coincidence, we look the same and have the same birthdays!"  
  
"Hey, I not stupid. We not look much alike. I more han-sum than you."  
  
Jake raises his fist about to punch JD when Vin steps between them; "Hey, calm down."  
  
"Please Jake, maybe we ARE related," suggests JD, who's read stories where people find their long lost relatives.  
  
"Why parents leave me and keep you?"  
  
"Maybe they didn't - maybe there's more to it," says JD.  
  
"I come back with you?"  
  
"Sure, we want to help you," says Vin.  
  
"We need to get back to North America first though," says Chris.  
  
"Ancient way get us there - long walk."  
  
"I don't like the sound of that," says Buck remembering the tunnels they were in before.  
  
"We don't have much choice, Bucklin," answers Chris wanting to get home before they're due back at work. He doesn't really believe this ancient way will lead them home but it's worth a try - plus he doesn't want to upset Jake by disbelieving him.  
  
Jake goes and collects some things he has in a crudely built shelter, then he hugs his native friends and says goodbye to them.  
  
"We have to tell your guardians that you're safe," says Chris not wanting anyone to come chasing after them accusing them of kidnap.  
  
"Okay, but they not make me stay."  
  
They walk towards his parents' village. His mother must have spotted them because she comes running along and hugs Jake. Jake speaks to her briefly and the only words the team can make out are North America and JD. His mother cries and kisses him goodbye.  
  
Jake leads them to where the ancient way is, but when they get there they find that not far from the entrance there has been a cave-in in the tunnel. It is clear they can't go that way.  
  
They stand around trying to think of how they can get back to North America.  
  
It is Buck who suggests something. "We just need to find out where we can get some plane fuel. Someone must know," says the man.  
  
Jake thinks for a moment, understanding the words plane fuel, then says, "Luther maybe have plane fuel. He sell foreign goods, he sell everything."  
  
"What do you mean "foreign goods"? Are they illegal?" asks JD, concerned for his could-be brother's choice of friends.  
  
"What ill-eagle?"  
  
"Things which will get people put in jail if anyone finds out they're selling them. We work for a special government unit which shuts down illegal alcohol, tobacco and firearms operations."  
  
"Oh. Please don't send Luther to jail, he my friend," asks Jake, looking sad at that thought.  
  
"If he can help us get home, we could forget about him," says Chris.  
  
"We can't be lenient with people Chris, that's not allowed," says Vin.  
  
"Be quiet, Vin - we're not actually working at the moment so we aren't allowed to shut anyone down."  
  
Vin is about to object to that but stays quiet instead.  
  
"What do we do if he can't help us get some fuel?" asks JD.  
  
"Maybe he can help us get home another way," suggests Chris, wondering what Jake's other friends are involved in.  
  
Jake starts to lead them towards where his friend Luther works.  
  
To be continued... 


	16. Part 15: Luther

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
Part 15: Luther  
  
Jake leads them to a building that resembles a huge barn. Vin looks in the window and sees wooden crates stacked everywhere. Not far from the front door there's a man with dark brown hair and a moustache. He's sitting on a wooden chair using crates as a desk. There's a young boy unloading a crate near the man. Vin watches to see what he unloads. He sees bags of what looks like sugar - Vin doubts it is though. He decides to bust the man and force him to help them. Vin draws his gun along with JD, Buck and Josiah. Chris and the others wait outside.  
  
The small group go inside and say "Freeze - police!"  
  
"Pol-ize? You aren't the local pol-ize!" says Luther, clearly frightened by the word though.  
  
"No, we're the ATF police," explains Vin.  
  
Luther looks questioningly at them and asks, "What is ATF?"  
  
JD answers him slowly so he'll understand, "Illegal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms unit."  
  
Luther draws a bigger gun and suddenly is by JD's side with the gun pointing at the side of his head.  
  
"Don't make things harder fer yerself," says Vin, in a calm voice so as not to force Luther to shoot JD.  
  
"I am not afraid to shoot Shake."  
  
Buck whispers to Vin, "He thinks he's Jake!"  
  
Vin whispers back, "That could be to our advantage."  
  
Vin points his gun at JD, "I will shoot him for you - I don't believe you would really shoot him." JD is shivering with fear as Vin speaks.  
  
Luther drops his gun revealing that he's really a coward, "Okay I give up. Please don't shoot Shake."  
  
Vin steps forward putting his gun back where he had it concealed. He produces handcuffs and puts them on Luther. "Okay, Luther you are under arrest," says Vin "Is that your lorry?"  
  
"Yes, it is," answers Luther, hoping maybe they'll let him go free if he helps them.  
  
"We need it ta get home. You'll drive us ta the seaport," demands Vin.  
  
Buck whispers to Vin, "Ain't we gonna get plane fuel?"  
  
Vin whispers back, "No, the sea's not far from here - we flew over it before we got here."  
  
The man shouts to the boy in a foreign language. The boy argues back in North American; "As long as you are going to jail I might as well hand in my resignation now. My name is Ian, take me back to the USA with you, he bought me from my parents a long time ago but only because they needed the money. They would be glad to see me again."  
  
"Okay we'll take you home to your parents," agrees Buck.  
  
The group walk into the cargo loading bay where the lorry is parked and Vin unlocks Luther's handcuffs so that the man can drive.  
  
"Okay, everyone in the lorry," says Luther roughly.  
  
"The rest of our friends are outside," explains Vin.  
  
"Okay I'll stop outside; I hope there's enough room for everyone."  
  
"Do you have friends on a ship who could take us back to USA?" asks Vin, wondering if Luther has any smuggler friends locally.  
  
"Yes, I will take you to them," agrees Luther very obligingly.  
  
Vin sits beside Luther in the cab to watch him, while Ian, JD and Buck get into the back of the lorry sitting on some crates that are there. Then Luther drives the lorry outside.  
  
Chris doesn't trust Luther at all, so after he's got directions from him, he puts Luther in the back and ties him up. Nathan doesn't like the look of the man either, so while no-one is looking he uses a hypo on him to put him to sleep for a while.  
  
After 45 minutes of driving they get to the place where the ship is moored. The man is untied and woken up, then leads them to a big ship with some scruffy looking men onboard.  
  
Luther speaks to them in Mexican.  
  
The man with the Captain's hat on his head placed crookedly, replies in Mexican.  
  
Luther tells Chris, "Captain Elias says welcome aboard. If you want passage to USA you will have to work and we will have to go a longer route."  
  
"Okay, but if there's any tricks, there'll be trouble," warns Chris, not too happy about going home on this ship that is clearly a smugglers' ship.  
  
Luther speaks to Captain Elias, telling him in Mexican what Chris just said.  
  
Captain Elias talks to the guys in good American; "There are 20 crewmen's beds, five of the men and the two women will make the beds while the others will do some other jobs. You and you will clean the deck," he points at Vin and Buck then continues, "and you two will report to the man over there and he'll give you a job to do." Elias points to Jake and Ian.  
  
Vin and Buck go to a big man who gives them mops and buckets. The others go to the crew's quarters. Ian and Jake report to a small man who gives them brooms and tells them to sweep the floor.  
  
Vin and Buck start to clean the deck.  
  
"This is hard work," moans Vin.  
  
The first mate looks at him angrily and orders, "No talking allowed. Do it again and we'll throw you in the Brig for the rest of the journey."  
  
"You can't do that," argues Buck.  
  
"What you gonna do? We're at sea, there's nowhere to run from us," taunts the first mate.  
  
"We could jump overboard," says Vin.  
  
"I've had quite enough of you both," says the other man, then the two men start walking toward them.  
  
7 7 7 7 7 7 7  
  
Meanwhile Chris is standing by the captain's double bed, staring into space.   
  
Lu comes in and notices he's not doing anything, so asks, "What's wrong?"  
  
Chris replies, "I miss Shirley."  
  
"At least she's safe where she is," answers Lu, not trusting the crew and their captain.  
  
"If we get out of this alive, I'm gonna call her and invite her to my place," decides Chris.  
  
"Of course we'll get out of this alive."  
  
"Be careful not to be left alone, I don't trust the crew one bit."  
  
Then they hear someone shouting. "I don't like the sound of that, we're going to find out what's happening," says Chris. He grabs Lu's hand and pulls her after him.  
  
They creep up on the deck and see Buck sitting on the floor groaning in pain.  
  
Chris rushes over, concerned; "What happened?"  
  
"They told us to stop talking or they'd throw us in the Brig. But I said that would be wrong, and they started chasing us. Next thing I know, some other guy puts out his leg and trips me up," explains Buck, rubbing his leg that hit the wooden deck hard.  
  
"I can't allow this to happen - I'm going to talk to the captain, you two get back to the others," says Chris.  
  
Chris goes to the captain's cabin; "We need to talk, Captain."  
  
"Service not to your likin'?" asks the captain in an agitated tone.  
  
"One of my men was threatened with being thrown in the Brig for talking, and then he was chased until another of your men tripped him up," explains Chris angrily.  
  
"It's called discipline."  
  
"It's called unfair treatment."  
  
"You gonna phone 911?" asks the captain.  
  
"You're in big trouble when we get back to the States," shouts Chris very angry now.  
  
"How about we throw you all to the sharks?" shouts the captain.  
  
"Don't threaten me - I can contact the authorities and they'll have helicopters and boats out here."  
  
The captain smiles at Chris, showing his teeth; "My men will shoot the helicopters down as soon as they get here."  
  
7 7 7 7 7 7 7  
  
Lu and JD are making a bed and chatting when several crewmen come in.  
  
"What have we here?" asks one man smiling evilly.  
  
"Don't come near me, I know Karate," bluffs JD.  
  
"I have a gun," threatens another of the men.  
  
JD draws his gun; "Me too, fancy that!"  
  
The gun 'accidentally' goes off and the man drops to the floor  
  
"I didn' mean to shoot him," lies JD convincingly.  
  
"Now, you're in trouble," says the third man.  
  
The remaining crewmen grab JD and Lu and take them to the Brig. They push them in and lock the doors.  
  
Nathan and Ezra come into the room where they heard the gunshot and find the crewman lying on the floor.  
  
Nathan checks his pulse, but he's dead. "Uh-oh," says Nathan, worried what the captain will think when he finds out.  
  
"Can't we revive him, Mister Jackson?" asks Ezra.  
  
"I don't think so, Ez - he's been shot in a critical place. I wonder who shot him?"  
  
"It must have been one of the crew - unless, he provoked one of our group."  
  
The same crewmen from before come back without JD and Lu (although Ezra and Nathan don't know they had them)  
  
"Good, I'm glad we found you - Captain wants your entire group up on deck," says one of the crewmen.  
  
Ezra and Nathan follow them to the deck.  
  
Everyone is gathered there except Lu and JD.  
  
Captain Elias speaks first; "As several of you now know, we practise strict discipline. One of your men and women have been put in the Brig for shooting a crew man. We will not take any more disobedience from you. You will all stay in your cabins until we get to the United States."  
  
"You must release JD and Lu," demands Chris loudly.  
  
"No," says Elias calmly.  
  
Everyone is taken to their cabins (most of them having to share) by crewmen and the doors are locked. At meal-times the crewmen bring food to the cabins always locking the doors after them. It seems to take forever to reach the USA.   
  
To be continued… 


	17. Part 16: Back in the USA

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
Note: I added a few lines paying homage to Charmed into this part, as I love that TV show now and saw the opportunity to name-drop in this part! I wasn't even into it when I originally wrote this part!  
  
Part 16: Back in the USA  
  
After several days of being in the ship's Brig, the guys go to bed as usual, sure that they will be arriving in the United States soon.  
  
A while later Vin wakes up feeling quite cold. He opens his eyes to find that they are all lying on a beach. Vin goes over to Chris and shakes him. Chris grumbles.  
  
"You have ta wake up Chris - they've dumped us all on a beach," says Vin.  
  
"WHAT?" asks Chris, before opening his eyes and looking around. He recognises the lifeguard's watch towers and notices the beach's name painted on a sign.  
  
A pretty young woman walks by and looks at them; "Y'all have been sleeping here all night?"  
  
"What day is it?" asks Chris.   
  
"Wednesday, handsome."  
  
"I've lost track of the days, we've been away from home fer so long," says Vin, trying to make it sound like he's joking to the woman.   
  
"I'm not sure how long we've been here - can't have been too long though," says Chris to Vin.  
  
"What town are we in?" asks JD who hasn't seen the beach's sign that would tell him.  
  
The woman laughs evilly at him and vanishes into thin air.  
  
"Uh-oh!" says JD, fear in his eyes.   
  
Buck wakes up and turns to JD. "What's wrong?" asks Buck.   
  
"I'm seeing people who aren't really there."   
  
"Me and Chris saw her as well, we even heard her," says Vin persuading JD he isn't going mad.   
  
"Where did she go?" asks JD.  
  
"She kinda just disappeared," answers Vin.  
  
"This is a beach and you don't get mirages on beaches!" says Buck, upset that he didn't see the woman.  
  
A beautiful blonde woman wearing a bikini appears in front of Buck. "Hi, I'm Buck," he says with a big friendly grin.  
  
The woman looks straight through him as if he's not there.  
  
"Are we in heaven or somethin'?" asks Jake, afraid that the smugglers have killed them and this is what heaven looks like.  
  
"Give me a minute and I'll figure it out," answers Chris, knowing that they aren't dead.  
  
Buck reaches towards the woman but she vanishes. Buck looks around puzzled.  
  
Nathan speaks up, "They must've given us some hallucinogenic drugs - that would explain the women who keep disappearing."  
  
Then all of a sudden they hear a cell-phone ringing. It isn't Buck's though. Chris hears it coming from the sand next to him so digs around. He finds a cell phone and answers it. "Hello?"  
  
It's his boss, Orin Travis; "Where the HELL are you all? You're meant to be back in the offices today."  
  
Chris takes the phone away from his ear and studies it, trying to work out how come the phone he found in the sand had Orin Travis on the other end.  
  
Vin grabs the phone off Chris wondering who's barking away on the other end; "Hello?"  
  
"Tell your leader that if he ever ignores me again he'll be in big trouble," says Travis loudly and sternly.  
  
"I'm sorry, Sir - were we meant to be back there today?" says Vin apologetically.   
  
"Yes you were - don't tell me you've got yourselves into some sort of trouble."  
  
"No, but I'm not sure where we are at the moment, Sir."  
  
"Good grief! How did you manage to get lost?" asks Travis, becoming agitated.  
  
"It's a very long story sir - but if we're by the sea we're nowhere near the offices," says Vin honestly.  
  
Chris angrily grabs the phone back off Vin - he doesn't want Travis to know all that's happened. "We'll be back tomorrow, we've just been a bit delayed," he explains to Travis.   
  
"I hate to think what's happened to you people for the past week. If I don't see you all tomorrow morning at 9AM exactly, you'll be doing community service for a month. Do I make myself clear?" says A.D. Travis.  
  
"Very clear. Bye Orin," says Chris, and then he disconnects the call. Then he studies the phone, puzzled. "Vin?" says Chris, surprise evident in his voice.  
  
"Yes, Chris," answers Vin.  
  
"This is the phone I lost in the jungle!"  
  
"It can't be!"  
  
"It is though," answers Chris, studying it for the identifying marks that will prove his point. Then he hands it to Vin so he can see the identifying marks that are clearly there.  
  
"We need to determine our present location and commence our journey homeward," says Ezra, wishing to change the subject before it starts getting to night-time again.  
  
"Why can't ya just say it in simple language, Ez?" asks Vin.  
  
"If everyone was as simple as you Mistah Tannah, then I would."  
  
Vin walks angrily toward Ezra intent on hurting him for his comment. Josiah pulls Vin away. "Fighting won't help us get home, brothers," says Josiah sternly.  
  
Vin and Chris have been chatting about what to do next in the meantime. They rejoin the group shortly after Josiah.  
  
Krys speaks up for the first time in ages knowing where they are now, "We're near San Francisco."  
  
"Perhaps we should visit Paige Matthews then - she could orb us homeward," says Ezra sarcastically.  
  
"What does orb mean?" asks Buck, who's never seen the show, surprisingly.  
  
"It's like in Star Trek when they use the transporters to move them somewhere else, except it's magic involved and not machinery," explains JD who knows all about Charmed.  
  
"Paige is only a TV Character in Charmed, Ez," explains Vin, receiving a glare from Ezra.  
  
Chris glares at Vin and Ezra upon realising that those two are being very annoying today; "We just need to go east for a while then."  
  
"How exactly?" asks Buck, as they don't have any form of transport.  
  
"There has to be people and cars further inland."  
  
Buck's cell phone starts ringing. He answers it, "Hello? Yeah, sure - I'll tell him…bye."  
  
Everyone stares at Buck and he answers, "That was Shirley. She clearly hasn't given up on you yet, Chris. Soon as you get home you have ta call her, I'll give you Dorothy's number."  
  
"We're tryin' ta get home. I'm not worrying about calling no women at the moment," answers Chris angrily.  
  
"We should start walking and find a way home, then."  
  
They leave the sea-front and start walking beside a road. Vin sees a truck parked nearby and goes over to it, hatching a plan.  
  
"No! I know what you are concocting Mistah Tannah - you cannot steal someone else's truck."  
  
"I can't steal the truck, but Buck can. Buck, come over here."  
  
Buck runs over to Vin and asks, "What's up?"  
  
"Can you break into this truck?"  
  
"Yes, but Chris will kill me if I do that!"  
  
"We have ta get home before tomorrow, otherwise Travis will kill Chris," reasons Vin.  
  
Buck quickly breaks into the truck, which doesn't have any security systems onboard. Vin calls the others over.  
  
Chris comes over and eyes the truck; "Whose truck is this?"  
  
"I dunno, but we need it for official ATF business," explains Buck.  
  
"We can't steal someone's truck, Buckley," yells Chris furiously.  
  
"I want to get home before tomorrow so we don't have ta do community service for a month."  
  
"I don't believe he would make us do that."  
  
"Don't you want to get home so you can call Shirley?" says Vin.  
  
"I've almost given up ever getting home," says Chris with a sigh.  
  
They decide to make their way home in the truck, then leave it somewhere for the police to find it.   
  
They all get into the truck with most of them sitting in the back of the flatbed. Krys sits close to Vin holding him tight. Josiah makes sure he isn't sitting close to Lu as he's had a row with her. He knows she would rather date someone else than him, as he has seen the way she's been looking at the person in question lately. He isn't too mad about it though.  
  
"I'm really tired, I don't feel like I got much sleep," says Lu, yawning.  
  
"We need to get some sleep soon or we'll get ill," says Nathan.  
  
"I've had plenty of sleep," replies JD who feels wide awake now.  
  
Chris calls to them through the open window of the cab; "Buck, call Travis and tell him we're on our way back. I want him to know that we are trying to get back for tomorrow. He probably thinks we're slacking off!"  
  
Buck calls Orin Travis and tells him they've got some transport and should be back in Denver by the next day.  
  
Lu has fallen asleep and is resting her head in Ezra's lap.  
  
Ezra suddenly has the urge to go to toilet; "Buck, can you rest her on your lap? I need to go to find some relief at the next rest stop."  
  
"Moving her might wake her up," says Buck.  
  
"She can always recommence her slumber."  
  
"She'll be really cranky if you wake her up," says JD.  
  
"Can't ya cross yer leg's Ez?" suggests Krys.  
  
"I really have to go," says Ezra getting desperate.  
  
He shouts to Chris; "Mistah Larabee? Can we stop at the next men's room?"  
  
"You should've gone in the sea, Ezra!" calls back Chris.  
  
"Mistah Larabee, I don't wish to pollute the sea - it's already polluted enough!"  
  
"You'll have to wait - I'm not stopping yet," replies Chris loudly, so he can be heard over the noise of the truck.  
  
"Maybe I should go over the side of the truck then," suggests Ezra moving about uncomfortably now.  
  
"Don't you dare do that," warns Chris.  
  
Lu wakes up hearing Chris's shouting and the girl asks, "Huh? Wassup?"  
  
"Can you sleep somewhere else?" asks the southerner.  
  
"Your lap's comfortable though."  
  
Nathan calls to Chris, "Can we stop at a hotel and get some sleep?"  
  
Chris calls back; "It's not night-time."  
  
"Some of us haven't been gettin' much sleep lately, Chris."  
  
Chris gives up and they stop at a town, hoping there's somewhere they can sleep. "Okay, everyone stay with the truck, I'm going to ask if there's somewhere to stay in this town," says the blonde team-leader, taking charge.  
  
"In the middle of the day?" exclaims JD, who doesn't need any sleep yet.  
  
"Why not?" asks Chris and glares at JD.  
  
JD nods, suddenly in agreement with Chris.  
  
Lu suddenly needs the toilet as well. "We need to find some toilets first," she says.  
  
"Okay, look out for any toilet signs," says Chris in agreement.  
  
Lu walks off and Chris is just going to call after her when she shouts that there's a service station in the distance and it has toilets  
  
Chris suddenly needs to go as well and dashes in the direction Lu has pointed.  
  
Most of the others need to go, except Krys who went in the sea before they stole the truck.  
  
Krys wanders around a bit while they're gone. She finds a map in the truck and looks at it on the ground outside. She finds where they are and finds that there's a hotel a short drive away.  
  
A man approaches her; "You ain't from 'round here are ya?"  
  
"No, I'm not, sir," the girl answers, standing up to face him.  
  
"You're very pretty," says the man looking at her keenly.  
  
"Thanks," says Krys, stepping away from the man hurriedly.  
  
Chris comes back, notices the man talking to Krys and gets a bit worried. "Hi, I'm Chris," he says to the man with a glare.  
  
The man notices Chris and the blonde team leader notices that the guy seems a bit frightened of him. The man backs away from Chris when the blonde asks, "What's your name?"  
  
"I have ta go; it's been nice meeting you, Miss." The man runs off quite fast.  
  
"Are guys often scared of you?" asks Krys.  
  
"Sometimes," answers the blonde man.  
  
Lu comes back looking a bit unwell.  
  
"Weren't your toilets very clean?" asks Chris, noticing she looks a bit pale.  
  
"It's not that, I just feel a bit off-colour today," answers the girl, not wanting to talk about it.  
  
Vin comes back and notices that Travis's niece Lu looks a bit pale; "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yes, I just need to rest a while," answers the girl.  
  
"I've found a hotel on this map that was in the truck. Everyone in the truck," orders Chris climbing into the driver's cab. They load into the truck with Ezra and Nathan looking after Lu.  
  
To be continued… 


	18. Part 17: The Hotel

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
Note: Jake is still with the Seven along with Lu and Krys but the boy (Ian) has been missing since they woke up at the beach, but they are sure he's fine wherever he is.  
  
Part 17: The Hotel  
  
The group of men and women soon arrive at the hotel that is slightly run-down. They all go to the reception desk hoping they can get rooms at such short notice.  
  
Chris presses the bell at the reception desk and when a scruffy receptionist appears, he politely requests, "We need some hotel rooms please."  
  
"Okay, how many would you like?" asks the lady, not in a very polite tone.  
  
"Well, there's 10 of us. Do you have 6 vacant rooms?"  
  
"We have plenty of empty rooms. I'll need the signature of one person staying in each room then you can have the keys," replies the receptionist pushing the visitor log book in front of Chris.  
  
The group decide quickly who's staying with who: Buck with Vin, JD with Jake, Ezra with Nathan, Lu with Krys, Josiah on his own and Chris on his own.  
  
They all go to their rooms after they've eaten dinner in the restaurant. There are clean pyjamas for everyone and there's a laundry service so their only clothes they have can get washed. They all sleep until evening...  
  
Krys wakes up first and sneaks to Vin and Buck's room. She had already agreed with Vin that he wouldn't lock the door so she could sneak in and see him. She puts a bathrobe on over her pyjama's that are a bit see-through. She makes her way to Vin's room. She pushes the door gently and it opens. She sneaks inside.  
  
Buck is awake and looks at her curiously; "What are you doing in here?"  
  
"I was just coming to see Vin," Krys answers.  
  
"Vin's still asleep, but you can see me instead." He grins at her jokingly.  
  
"I didn't come here to see you."  
  
Buck gets up and leaves the room in a huff.  
  
Krys goes over to Vin and shakes him gently. He groans and asks, "What?"  
  
"Hi, it's Krys," the girl replies.  
  
Vin opens his eyes and smiles at her; "Hi, Sweetie, you wanna lay down next ta me?"  
  
She takes off the bathrobe and gets in bed and lies down. He puts his arm around her.  
  
Buck walks along the hall and knocks at a door not knowing which of the guys are in that room.  
  
It's Chris's room. He hears Chris's voice; "Who is it?"  
  
"It's me, Buck, can I come in?" asks Buck.  
  
"No, I'm still sleeping, go away."  
  
"I can't - I got kicked out of my room."  
  
"Go and share with Josiah," says Chris.  
  
"NO WAY!" says Buck.  
  
"Why'd you get kicked outta yer room?" asks Chris.  
  
"'Cause Krys and Vin wanted to be alone."  
  
Chris sighs, gets up and opens the door - he stands in the doorway before saying, "I can't stop those two can I?"  
  
"No - they're not kids!" replies Buck, happy that Vin's found someone special.  
  
"We'll have to leave here soon, we've gotta get back for Travis."  
  
"I'm real sorry I got us lost on that plane trip," apologises Buck.  
  
"Well, we found JD's 'brother' didn't we?" says Chris, although he can't believe JD has a twin brother.  
  
"It's so weird that he has a twin brother."  
  
"It's not proven yet, could be a hoax."  
  
**JA JA JA JA JA JA JA  
**  
Elsewhere, in JD's room, Jake picks up JD's stuffed bear and looks at it quizzically; "You sleep with a bear?"  
  
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" asks JD agitatedly, grabbing the stuffed bear off Jake.  
  
"You're too old to sleep with stuffed toys!"  
  
"There's no harm in it."  
  
"I don't need no bears in MY bed!" says Jake picking up the bear and throwing it across the room. "Bears are for babies."  
  
"No, they aren't - go and pick it up," orders JD angrily.  
  
"No, I won't - I don't take orders from anyone," says Jake obstinately.  
  
JD advances on Jake and they start fighting.  
  
Then Buck comes into the room and tears them apart. "What's going on?" he asks them angrily.  
  
"He said bears are for babies," says JD.  
  
"He's orderin' me about like he's in charge," says Jake frowning at his brother.  
  
"You two best separate for a while," says Buck taking hold of Jake's arm and leading him out of the room.  
  
Jake rushes into the vacant bathroom outside and locks the door.  
  
Ezra comes out of his room dressed already.  
  
"Hey Ezra - Jake and JD are fightin' like brothers," says Buck, jealously.  
  
"That does not prove that they have blood ties," says Ezra, skeptical about Jake and JD being brothers.  
  
Jake comes out of the bathroom and looks at the men before saying, "Hey guys, let's roll, we gotta get back before Mr. Travis gets really mad at you."  
  
Chris comes out of his room dressed in his usual black. "Guys, we aren't leavin' just yet. I'll say when it's nearly time to go," says the blonde glaring at Jake.  
  
Chris goes into his room calling Jake to follow. Chris looks at Jake; "I want to know the truth - are you really JD's twin brother?"  
  
"I think I am - I just need to find records, then it will be proven to everyone," answers Jake, who really believes that he's JD's brother.  
  
"Okay, but this better not be some scam to get a free trip."  
  
Outside in the corridor Lu is walking along, when she sees who she's looking for. Lu walks up to Nathan and whispers to the medic, "Can we talk in private?"  
  
Lu and Nathan go into the breakfast lounge that is deserted.  
  
Nathan asks her in a low voice, "What's up?"  
  
"I need your help with something - if you can help," says Lu in a quiet voice.  
  
Ten minutes later, Nathan is studying some liquid on a plastic slide under a microscope in his hotel room.  
  
"No, it's okay, yer clear. Who's do you think it would've been if you had been – y'know what?"  
  
"I'd rather not say," replies the girl.  
  
"If you need to talk, I'm never too far away," offers Nathan.  
  
"Thanks, Nathan. I'm relieved I'm not...you know what. I don't think Uncle Orin would've been too pleased."  
  
Nathan smiles at the thought of AD Travis' possible reaction to Lu's news if the results had been different.  
  
Nathan flushes the sample down the toilet, while Lu leaves the room, remembering Ezra mentioned that he was going outside for some fresh air. She goes outside and finds that several of the others are there sitting on the grass.  
  
Lu sees Chris and walks over to him.  
  
"Everythin' okay?" asks the blonde wondering where she got to.  
  
"Of course it is!" she replies with a smile.  
  
Ezra is looking at her from a distance, as if he suspects something is up. Lu keeps her distance from him not wanting to tell him anything.  
  
Josiah is so busy chatting to JD and Buck that he doesn't notice that the girl has joined them.  
  
"So why did you and Lu split up so soon?" JD asks Josiah - he'd thought they made a nice couple.  
  
"It simply wasn't meant to be, my young friend," says Josiah, who isn't in the least upset about him and Lu.  
  
"I'm sure you'll find someone soon."  
  
"Who said I'm looking?"  
  
"I gotta find someone before Josiah does - if only Dorothy wasn't married now!" says Buck.  
  
JD and Josiah chuckle.  
  
Chris calls everyone together. "We have to leave soon. Get your things together and meet me at the truck in five minutes," says Chris, taking charge.  
  
"Ah can't get ready that rapidly, Mr. Larabee! Ah would prefer if you increase it to a more reasonable timescale," objects Ezra, thinking about the tasks he needs to perform before he's ready to leave.  
  
Chris looks at Ezra hardly understanding him.  
  
Chris gets annoyed and in a voice imitating the southerner says, "Mr. Standish, Ahh suggest ya get yer ass in gear and be at that truck in five minutes or Ah'll leave without yer!"  
  
Buck and JD laugh at the terrible southern accent.  
  
"Ah understand you perfectly now, Mr. Larabee - ah'll be waiting for YOU at the truck!" says Ezra sarcastically, then he walks back into the hotel.  
  
Chris grins despite the sarcasm he detected in Ezra's voice.  
  
"I can' believe ya jest said that to Ezra!" says Vin, trying not to laugh.  
  
Chris shrugs and walks to his room, wanting to be the first one to the truck.  
  
Lu is watching Ezra from a distance, smiling.  
  
Nathan creeps up on her and asks softly, "Would he have been the father?"  
  
Lu puts a finger to her lips.  
  
"I thought it was Josiah!"  
  
"Josiah and I weren't right together; on the other hand Ezra and I get along really well together!"  
  
Everyone goes back into the hotel to pack.  
  
**JA JA JA JA JA JA JA**  
  
Surprisingly, Ezra is the first one at the truck not looking forward to getting back to Denver and facing Judge Travis.  
  
Lu notices the worried look on his face and puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder; "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Ah'm not looking forward to our forthcoming encounter with your uncle. Furthermore, once we get home you'll have to depart for your homeland, Miss Travis," answers Ezra.  
  
"What makes you think that?" asks Lu, hoping to spend some time with Ezra in Colorado before she has to go home.  
  
"Ah assumed we only had the pleasure of your company while we were on this vacation."  
  
"Things could change!" She winks at him after saying this and walks towards Krys to chat to her.  
  
Ezra is having trouble not smiling at what could possibly happen in the future.  
  
JD notices him smiling and walks over; "Good news, Ez?"  
  
"Perhaps, Mr. Dunne," answers Ezra with a slight smile showing on his face.  
  
Buck joins them. He notices that someone is missing; "Where's Chris? We're almost all here before him!"  
  
"Ah expect Mr. Larabee is trying to unlock his wallet."  
  
"Don't tell me you made a bet with him that you'd beat him here?"  
  
"Yes ah did, my friend. He felt so sure of himself he gambled a large sum of money on the outcome being in his favour," replies Ezra with a grin.  
  
Vin hears this last sentence and walks over and asks, "Tell us, Ezra - what did you do to stop Chris being here first?"  
  
"What makes you estimate that ah did something?"  
  
Elsewhere, Chris is being flirted with by a young lady who is doing a very good job of it. He can't believe his luck and has completely forgotten about winning his bet with Ezra. After flirting with Chris for ten minutes she decides she doesn't like him after all and rapidly leaves.  
  
Chris remembers the bet and once back in his room, rapidly gets ready to leave. He rushes outside to the truck where everyone else is waiting for him.  
  
Ezra approaches him; "Ah believe you owe me some money, Mr. Larabee."  
  
"I only have some money left from the budget Travis gave us," says Chris.  
  
"That will be acceptable, the longer I have ta wait for my money, the more interest I will add onto the sum," says Ezra.  
  
Chris takes out his wallet and starts counting money to give to Ezra.  
  
"I guess you won it fair and square," says Chris.  
  
Everyone has loaded into the truck with Chris and Buck sitting in the cab and the others sitting in the back. They recommence the drive home.  
  
**To be continued…**


	19. Part 18: Home at Last

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
Part 19 is going to be the final part, after removing a few bits to the story I didn't like, thus making it shorter.  
  
Part 18: Home at Last  
  
ATF Team 7 plus Jake, Lu and Krys rode in the truck headed eventually for Colorado. Time was running out and the people would only just have enough time to have a shower and change clothes before they were due to meet up with Judge Travis. Chris had said Krys could go into work with them - even go to their meeting with Travis. Krys was going to stay with Vin overnight then he'd drive her to the train station in the morning to get a train home.  
  
Hours later, they arrived in Denver and felt glad to finally be home. They drove to Chris's ranch where they had left their vehicles, except Josiah who'd driven them to the airport for the flight to South America. He'd ride with Nathan for now and pick up his car from the airport later. Vin and Krys stay at the ranch with Larabee while everyone else drives back to their homes to get ready for work. Jake is going to stay at Buck and JD's place for the time being.  
  
Chris walks into his house and looks at the phone to check for messages. "Mmmm, I go away on Vacation for what seems like a whole year, and no-one phones me," he says to Vin, who had followed him into the house. "Guess everyone was too busy ta phone, Cowboy," answers Vin.  
  
Vin had some clothes at Chris's and Chris had said Vin could have a shower there as well. "I won't be long cowboy - you look after my gal for me," says Vin smiling at Krys.  
  
"Okay, I promise not to drink this time," says Chris smiling. Vin chuckles falsely, not finding it funny then he grabs a towel from the cupboard. The Texan goes for a shower while Chris and Tanner's fiancee sit down on the couch and watch TV.  
  
**JA JA JA JA JA JA JA**  
  
A few hours later everyone is gathered in the conference room for their meeting with Judge Travis.  
  
Orin Travis strides in looking at the assembled group while he walks. He can see a few bruises but no-one has their arm in a sling or any other serious injuries that are visible.  
  
"Welcome back everyone, I hope you had a pleasant vacation," says A.D. Travis, looking at Chris and giving the signal that he wants to talk to Chris later and be filled in on all that has happened while they've been away.  
  
Chris smiles back nervously - he'll have to leave some things out of the story.  
  
"It was a very interesting vacation, Mister Travis," says Ezra.  
  
"I see you bought an extra person back," says Travis looking at the girl sitting next to Vin.  
  
"We rescued her from some friends who were no good fer her," said Vin.  
  
"No-one has any serious injuries I see."  
  
Nathan opens his mouth to speak, but notices Chris Larabee glaring at him.  
  
"No-one was seriously injured, sir - just a few bruises," Chris says looking at JD as he speaks.  
  
"I..." started JD, receiving a glare from Chris before he could say about falling down a hole.  
  
"Yes, Agent Dunne?" asks Travis.  
  
"...Had a great time."  
  
"Good. My niece tells me the idol had to be destroyed - a great pity."  
  
"We had a fun time finding it though," says JD, receiving another glare from Chris.  
  
"Let me talk, will you?" orders Chris.  
  
"Sorry," says JD, looking dejected.  
  
"There a few ATF matters which need dealing with now that you gentlemen are back," says Orin, then hears some gentle snoring and looks around. Chris Larabee was slumped in his chair and fast asleep.  
  
Travis coughs loudly then says, "Agent Larabee, I take it your vacation was very tiring. I didn't expect it to be like that at all. My niece had assured me of how easy it would be." He looked at his niece who just yawned.  
  
"Well, there's no urgent matters. I hope you will tell me sometime, why you are all so tired now. Dismissed."  
  
**The End - except for the epilogue coming soon!**


	20. Part 19: Life returns to normal well, al...

Disclaimers and other Info. in Part 1 - additional acknowledgements will be included in parts where needed.  
  
This final part is quite short and tells of what happens now they're back home.

Part 19: Life returns to normal (well, almost)  
  
ATF Team 7 continued their week at work, remembering all they'd been through for the past week but not sharing it with anyone in case Travis found out what really happened - Chris knew he wouldn't be happy to hear about all the danger and injuries that had occurred during their vacation.  
  
Jake stayed at JD and Buck's place, researching his true family and trying to find any trace of him; but it seemed like he didn't even exist. In the evenings he enjoyed meals with JD and Buck and wished he'd never have to move out - they were great roommates in his opinion. Although he really felt that he and JD were brothers, he hadn't found any concrete proof yet; it could easily be a coincidence that they looked similar, their birthdays fell on the same day and they were born the same year. JD insisted that they had to be twins with so many coincidences.  
  
Meanwhile, Chris tried to contact Shirley; but she wouldn't talk to him - now convinced that he had only wanted her for a holiday romance. Chris had tried to persuade her that Buck would do that - not him, but Shirley didn't believe him.  
  
Krys had a big row with Vin - because the girl wanted to live near her parents, but Vin wouldn't leave his job or even try to work another plan out with the girl. So the two broke off their engagement and Krys went back to her parents a few days after the group had returned to Denver.  
  
Lu stayed at Ezra's house for a few days, but had to leave in a hurry without having time to explain why. Ezra thought he must have upset her, but after a brief phone call knew that it was a family emergency and the young woman still loved him. Lu asked him to call or even visit the next time he was in England.  
  
Nathan's girlfriend Rain insisted on knowing everything that had happened to Nathan during the vacation and he reluctantly told her. The woman forbade him from going on vacation with the others unless she was invited in future after hearing some of the horrific events of the vacation.  
  
Josiah quickly forgot about his brief love affair with Lu when he met a woman called Penny and began dating her. The man decided to never think or speak about the vacation again - it was his least favourite time away from work ever.  
  
Krys's ex-friends Terry, Joe and Harry were sent to prison and vowed that once they got free they would have their revenge; especially on Krys.  
  
The End 


End file.
